Suppose you were the manager of a coastal city and you had the opportunity to greatly increase funding for fire protection and other services without raising taxes on the citizenry. And suppose you could do it without harming the air, nearby beaches, or the water quality simply by allowing a company to produce more crude oil.

Long Beach, California, has found itself in this enviable position. At a time when cities and towns all over the nation are trying to find ways to shore up their budgets, Long Beach is sitting atop a gold mine of oil and additional revenue.

As reported in Long Beach's Press-Telegram, Assemblywoman Betty Karnette has introduced legislation that would allow Occidental Petroleum to drill additional wells and produce more oil to create jobs and improve the city's tax base. Occidental operates the THUMS Islands, which are man-made oil production facilities in Long Beach Harbor.

Karnette told the Press-Telegram, "If we're going to use it (oil) anyway, and Long Beach is my district, my city, we should be the ones to use it and make it as clean as possible. We have to go green, and we also have to be realistic."

Crude oil will be an essential part of the United States' energy future for several decades. Long Beach and several other cities could help to create jobs and generate revenues by developing oil and natural gas resources along their coastlines. At a time when the economy needs a boost and Americans need well-paying jobs, developing domestic oil and natural gas just makes sense.

For more information, read the full Press-Telegram article.