This comment is a suggestion for John McCain to help follow through on his promise to increase offshore drilling, help the American people and create an immediate economic stimulus to the American economy.

Democrats under the leadership of Barack Obama want to effectively give away in trust our offshore exclusive economic zone by standing in the way of any current offshore development. Under the 1982 United Nations Law of the Seas Convention the US has an exclusive economic zone of 200 nautical miles and mineral seabed rights up to 350 nautical miles extending along the Continental shelf. A nautical mile is 6080 feet so our exclusive economic zone extends about 240 miles and mineral seabed rights extend 420 miles.

The US has the world’s largest offshore exclusive economic zone totaling 4.4 million square miles. In comparison, the total land area of the United States is only 3.4 million square miles. Because we have the world’s largest offshore coastline which is twenty-five percent greater than our land area, it only makes common sense that we exploit our offshore resources to achieve our energy independence.

The best way to effectively exploit our offshore resources and really help the average American is to divide up the 4.4 million square miles of US offshore economic zone among the 218 million Americans adults who are 18 years and older according to the 2003 US census. Because a square mile equals 640 acres, there would be 2.816 billion offshore acres to be divided among the 218 million American adults.

The current federally leased acreage of roughly 100 million acres both onshore and offshore represents roughly only three and a half percent of the total 2.8 billion offshore exclusive economic zone acreage of land that could be leased and divided up by all Americans. Subtract out that acreage and you still have 2.7 billion unleased acreage. Under this proposal, every adult in the US would be entitled to 12.8 acres. This would be a takeoff from the forty acres and a mule theme except it would be mineral rights to offshore production. A lottery could be set up to randomly assign 12.8 acres to every American. You may end up with mineral rights to acreage around American Samao.

The resulting lottery would create ten of thousands of instant American millionaires whose acreage abuts known contiguous offshore oil fields. A market to buy and sell acreage rights could be created which would put money into the pockets of those who acreage contains unknown oil potential. Turning over the acreage to ordinary Americans to collect leasing revenues and royalty rights will empower Americans and stimulate the economy. We do not need the Department of Interior and Nancy Pelosi to argue over the next four years which tracts of land should be leased and have that money going into the General Treasury.

Give the land to every American and they can expeditiously see to the leasing of the land. Mercedes Benz limousine liberals and wacko environmentalists can finally keep their mouths shut and instead use their own fat checkbooks to buy up acreage and prevent development if they choose with the acreage they buy from ordinary Americans.

Let Barack Obama and the Democrats tell the American people that they are better trustees of the offshore land with limited or no development and that each American is not entitled and should not profit from their 12.8 acres of offshore land. Leasing and royalty payments are not insignifcant even for small acreage. An example is east of Fort Worth Texas where natural gas drilling companies are paying 25 percent royalties and $3000 leasing payments to owners of quarter acre homes for natural gas drilling rights under their homes.