Oil is a dying industry, just like coal. 50 years from now, we all will laugh at oil and it's heyday. Instead of drilling for something that might not be there, here is an idea that is guaranteed to be there -- wind and the sun. Almost every single day there is some form of wind out on the open ocean. In addition, there is also some form of sunlight every day as well.
The smarter strategy and cleaner strategy and one with an unlimited supply is WIND and SOLAR. That is obviously the future of energy!!

Brilliant idea!!

Not only would the Bahamas be held liable by the U.S. and forced to pay -- but the U.S. would be responsible for the clean up as well (since the Bahamas lack the technology and equipment to clean up an oil spill). As a result, the U.S. would have the right to force the Bahamas to pay the U.S. for the clean up expenses too.

This Editorial by Kevin was extremely "selfish" and un-Christian. Yes, if Cuba fully opens up to American tourists, some of the money will flow towards Cuba rather than the Bahamas. That is NO different than the money that flows to the T&C, Jamaica, Bermuda, and all of the other tourist destinations that we compete with at the moment. But the freedom and advancement of an entire society and people outweigh the potential decrease in tourist dollars. I want all people to live in a free society in peace and happiness -- and that is exactly what Cuba deserves. The fact that some Bahamians (e.g. Kevin) still want Cuba to remain a Communist dump of a country and still let their citizens suffer -- just so we can profit -- is a complete embarrassment and extremely narrow minded approach.

I'm trying to keep this as simple as possible. I'm only asking one question... can you wake up tomorrow and start going about your day as fully attracted and aroused by men (rather than women)? It's a simple yes or no question. Nothing else comes into play. YES or NO? Of course the answer for you and I is a "no." Therefore, this obviously proves it isn't a "choice" as you claim it is to be. But instead, simply how our brains are wired. And guess who programmed our brains... GOD.

I'm going to assume that you are a heterosexual (as am I). I would like for you to wake up tomorrow and immediately stop being attracted to women and instead long for the touch of a male. Could you do it? Could you simply flip a switch when you wake up and do it?
Let me help you with the answer... it is a NO. And guess what, I couldn't make the switch either. For some reason, I am wired to only be attracted to females and as hard as I might try... I will never be attracted to males.
But according to you and what you preach... it is as simple as making a choice and making the "right" choice (otherwise, you will burn in hell).

Who cares if only 20% of the signatures are from Bahamian citizens. The Bahamas are an international destination. The vast majority of the country's income comes from international visitors and their money. And if the majority of signatures are from outside the Bahamas (most likely from the US and/or Canada) and something very negative happens at the drill site (explosion, oil leak, pollution, etc), then these international folks by using their signatures on this petition are telling the Bahamas government -- they will go elsewhere for their beach vacations or fishing trips or boating trips or scuba trips. And poof... the money is gone!
That is what the 80% of those signatures are telling us. And that is a very, very important point and it shouldn't be discarded or downplayed.

The "benefits" of this project certainly won't outweigh the short-term & long-term "costs!!!"

Maybe they are too busy at the moment polluting some other small/helpless country's natural resources.

Why oil????? That is a very, very backwards approach. Shall we also mine for coal? Or, how about putting up more landlines for phones? All of which are dying industries. We need to think forward not backwards. How about we as a country look at wind energy and/or solar energy?