http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/a-rational-decision-judge-blocks-obamas-ban-on-offshore-drilling-yftt_507518.html

U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman overturned President Obama's six-month ban on deepwater drilling Tuesday, saying it was wrong to assume that one tragic failure means all deepwater drilling poses a similar threat.

''An invalid agency decision to suspend drilling of wells in depths of over 500 feet simply cannot justify the immeasurable effect on the plaintiffs, the local economy, the Gulf region, and the critical present-day aspect of the availability of domestic energy in this country,'' Feldman wrote, The NYT reports.

It's a "rational decision" by Judge Feldman, says Chris Edmonds, managing principal of FIG Partners' Energy Research & Capital Group.

"This was a horrible failure [and] I don't want to discount that something went tragically wrong," Edmonds says. "But the bottom line is the response to simply blanket ban drilling until we figure out what happened is a bit of an overreaction."

Edmonds says the disaster on the Deepwater Horizon was probably caused by "a series of bizarre, linked events" but "we won't know for years, probably, with any certainty." The probablity of an accident of this mangnitude happening again in our lifetime is extremely low, he adds. "That's how safe and pristine Gulf drilling typically is."

The emotional response to the BP catastrophe is to say "'all drilling is bad. Stop everything,'" Edmonds says. "In practical, realistic terms that doesn't make a whole lot of sense. We have to balance the interest of production and being able to fuel - literally - the American economy with the safety and economic interest of those who produce [energy] and work in the Gulf. "

The White House says it will appeal Judge Feldman's decision.

Yea, the restrictions will be rewritten and resubmitted so they will be back in place shortly.

There needs to be a plan in place to prevent something like this from happening again, spills will happen but this is just ridiculous. Leave it to republicans to try and force feed more of right now. They, like hussein obummer have 0 insight into environmental issues. I'm all for off shore oil rigs because they do benefit fish by providing structure, but there must be a plan in place to stop another **** puzzle like we have right now.

That assshat Salazar is already trying to get it overturned ... so much for 'hope' and 'change' ... by 2012, 'The UN' will have reduced this once-great nation to the status of Zimbabwe, Rwanda, or Ethiopia ...

Why didn't Obama close all the coal mines after that explosion that killed a bunch of people a while back?What's with the double standard?Coal mines are ok killing people but oil wells are not?

Money talks in (corrupt) partisan politics, my friend.

Because at that time he was too busy getting his butt kissed by the media and on his I hate America world tour where he was bowing to all the worlds leaders and apologizing for this countries actions so he didn't have time for no coal mine disaster.

Simple ... he doesn't NEED to ... remember during the campaign when he flat came out and said that companies could try to build new, modern coal plants, but that he'd bankrupt 'em with the taxes he'd put on 'em? How many new coal plants have you seen considered since 'The UN', 'Lord Obama Most High and Most Merciful, Lord of the Flies' has been immaculated ... ? NONE. He's already checked that agenda item off his list ... now he's moved on to oil ...

Coal mine disasters don't foul large parts of the eco-environment.

Wouldn't have had enough support from shortsighted ideology to push through a total shutdown.

Politics and cashflow and who can be manipulated is what it's all about.

Because this is America, if a cute animal or child gets hurt, we'll ban the hell out of what caused it, even to the detriment of the public at large. If an adult gets killed it's considered an acceptable loss in the American Profit Model.

DAMMIT, I sooooo wanted to buy a freaking horse........why can't everyone else get on the same freaking page.......we survived long before fossil fuels.......will survive much longer if we stopped using them.......people just too dam lazy is all.......oh yeah and its about the money, I forgot.......well I come from the country and I know I aint heard all, but I will miss the wild horses at the beach that I last saw. The fish dying deep beneath oil water and salt, my food no longer exists because we selfishing killed it all. Now homosapiens dying hunger and a thirst that makes our throats raw. The trees all dead give no oxygen at all.

This is probably the most common and prevalent misconception about oil and oil products: Oil is NOT a 'fossil fuel' ... dinosaurs did not die and magically decompose to 'oil' ... if that were the case, we'd also have graveyards full of oil ... Oil is ABIOTIC, not biotic - it is made by the mechanisms in the earth from methane and other hydrocarbons under heat and pressure at depth ... it is NOT, and has NEVER been, a 'fossil fuel' ... if we went by the LITERAL definition of the term, oil, as a 'fossil fuel', would be made from BONES since 'fossils' are generally petrified or calcified bone.

Actually they can tell where oil and many other metals remain located through an apparatice that can tell where meteors hit the Earth. And its still going to kill us the way it is used.....Okay fuels then since you are breaking down to webster dictionary literary terms.