If international waters starts 3 miles past the coast, why can't oil companies drill in international waters?

Question

Just curious. The US can't legislate laws in areas we don't own, so what is stopping them from setting up shop just past the 3 mile marker?

Answer 1

Or 12 miles even.

Must be if they do, they will lose the tax breaks, etc.

Pootfart3:  Your environmental concerns are well founded, but illogical.  We ARE suffering due to lower oil supplies raising our gas prices through the roof.  

And we have hundreds of oil rigs in the Gulf.  How much spillage was there when Katrina rolled through?  I thought so.

The fact is, environmentalists want us to stop total pollution.  Sign Kyoto.  Embrace the global warming theory.  Regress into the stone age.

Well, remember this when you use your computer powered by electricity from a coal fired plant, or drive your car on asphalt roads.

Answer 2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Inter...

light blue shows international waters...

Answer 3

Why can't people understand the dire consequences that might occur with drilling for oil in the ocean waters. Do you really want to take the chance of poluting the ocean so much that it helps to destroy a lot of sea life which affects human life also? The only ones who will profit from this kind of venture is the oil companies and the rest of the world will just have to suffer.....