An underwater pipeline leaked more than 58,000 gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday. The spill, which occurred about 30 miles off the Louisiana coast, "was among the largest in recent years in U.S. waters," Reuters reports. The spill from Shell Oil's pipeline may not reach land, but its effects are rippling through Florida. Opponents of expanding drilling in the gulf spread the story as yet another reason to keep the eastern gulf clear of offshore rigs (and the pipelines that would bring the oil onshore).

Legislation was introduced this week by Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Mary Landrieu, D-La., that would bring oil drilling to within 45 miles of the coast. State legislators told the Bradenton Herald that they don't think offshore drilling will solve that problem. "I don’t believe that we’ll ever drill our way to renewable energy," state Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, said. "Anything that we do in the Gulf of Mexico only delays the inevitable."

In fact, a study released last week by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory found that Americans used less energy last year, and more of what they used came from renewable sources. "The nation used less coal and petroleum during the same time frame," the report found, "and only slightly increased its natural gas consumption."