There are lots of unanswered questions in the debate on nearshore drilling. Ask your legislator if they have any of the answers.
- An ultra-modern rig has been leaking oil in the Timor Sea since August 21st. Three attempts to plug the leak have failed and it’s estimated that the rig is leaking up to 2,000 barrels of oil a day. In light of this, how can current technology be considered safe?
- Is it smart to put rigs off the Florida coast when Hurricanes Katrina and Rita damaged 457 pipelines, destroyed 113 oil platforms and caused at least 154 petroleum spills totaling more than 17,076 barrels?
- How will the routine discharge of mercury, arsenic and other heavy metals impact our fishing industry and our health?
- If Texas gets about $45 million and Alabama anywhere from $50 to $300 million annually in oil/gas revenue, how can Florida Energy Associates suggest that Florida will rake in $2.25 billion a year by drilling in the narrow ten mile margin of Florida’s state waters?
- Last week an oil tanker collision spilled 18,000 gallons of fuel oil into the Gulf off the coast of Texas. In July, the Eugene Island pipeline leak spilled 1,400 barrels of crude oil into the Gulf off the coast of Louisiana. Even if rigs are safer, how can we risk the inherent danger of transporting these petroleum products?
- The Mineral Management Service estimates that there are 3.88 billion barrels in the entire Eastern Gulf of Mexico. Florida’s state waters are only a tiny fraction of the Gulf, but the oil lobbyists have suggested that there are 12 billion more barrels in our state waters, than in the entire Eastern Gulf of Mexico. Why risk Florida’s shores and $65 billion tourism industry for faulty math?
- Last year, the Louisiana state legislature based their FY2010 budget on $84/barrel oil. When oil prices were lower than expected, the legislature had to deal with budget shortcomings and was forced to cut education and healthcare programs. How is an energy-based economy more stable than a tourism based economy?