Poll: 73% Oppose Drilling Ban

Americans are furious with BP for sparking the largest environmental disaster in US history, but they largely consider it a “freak accident,” and oppose the Obama administration’s deepwater drilling moratorium, according to a new poll from Bloomberg. “A ban will destroy the economy in that area over nothing,” said one respondent. “This is crazy. If there’s a plane crash, you don’t ground all the airlines.”

Some 80% said BP should pay for all the damage caused by the spill, and 60% even said that BP, not the government, should reimburse workers laid off because of the moratorium. A majority also believed that BP should pay even if that drove the company into bankruptcy. “It’s their fault,” said one respondent. “They are ultimately responsible for what they did, whether they go bankrupt or not.” (More poll numbers stories.)