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 On April 20th, 2010, an semi-submersible oil rig off the coast of Louisiana exploded, killing 11 rig operators and endangering over a hundred others. The rig has since sunk to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. DON’T DRILL FLORIDA would like to use this time to express our condolences to those personally affected by this tragedy, and hope we can learn how to prevent this type of accident happening in the future. Luckily, 115 people survived the explosion and the massive environmental damage this event will cause is well off-shore.
Peace and remembrance.
 "No Baby, No" Agriculture Commissioner Candidate Scott Maddox on nearshore oil drilling: “I can think of no better way to destroy our economy and hurt average Floridians than to mortgage our future on the risky proposition of putting oil rigs a few miles off our coast. One spill would set coastal communities back several generations; we simply cannot risk it. Property values would drop, tourism would plummet, aquaculture would be wiped out, and the crown jewel of residential real estate would be irreparably harmed. As a future Cabinet member, I would do everything in my power to protect Florida’s most valuable environmental and economic resource – our pristine beaches and shores.”
It’s nice to hear statewide candidates strongly oppose the drill plan. In what should be the biggest energy decision in Florida in a generation, all candidates, legislative and state-wide, should weigh in on this issue. The people of Florida need to know if their representation can be trusted as stewards of our unique natural environments. Call your candidate today.
Thank you Scott Maddox for standing up for Florida. Adam Putnam, Scott’s Republican opposition for Agriculture Commissioner, is unabashedly pro-drilling and/or clueless about this debate. His posistion: “We should proceed cautiously in a very open, transparent way.” Laughably, Mr. Putnam has the audacity to mention transparency when speaking of the nearshore drilling plan, when there has been anything but transparency. You want to be a leader Mr. Putnam? Demand that ALL of the financial backers of the Florida Energy Association reveal themselves. The only thing transparent about this deal is your poorly veiled support for your oil hungry friends that would bring pipelines and rigs within 3 miles of our shores.
A line has been drawn in the sand of our beaches. Ask your candidate which side they are on.
On February 13th Floridians will have the opportunity to come together to save our beaches, economy and way of life. At exactly 12:30PM CST, thousands of Floridians will join hands along the Gulf coast sending the Legislature an undeniable message: we don’t want oil drilling on our coast! ”Hands Across the Sand” seeks:
To raise awareness about pending Florida legislation to drill for oil in our coastal waters.
To organize a Gulf coast wide and perhaps statewide coastal movement to protest this legislation. This protest will bring thousands of Florida citizens to our beaches and will draw metaphorical and actual lines in the sand; human lines in the sand against near shore oil drilling in our waters. This event will be held on Saturday February 13, 2010.
To convince our Legislators and Governor to drop any and all Legislation that would allow this folly.
Visit their website www.handsacrossthesand.com for more information, and visit our events page for information on carpooling to the event.
Thanks to the many efforts of Floridians opposed to drilling, the anonymous Florida Energy Associate’s “Drill, baby, drill” train has been slowed. Just a few weeks ago, Senate President Atwater issued a memo announcing the Senate Environmental Preservation and Conservation Committee will conduct a comprehensive review of the impacts of offshore oil drilling in Florida. Click here to read the memo. While this certainly helps delay drilling, it doesn’t derail it. Please continue to contact the Governor and your Legislators to remind them that Floridians don’t want offshore drilling. With you help we can save our shores, our jobs and our way of life!
DON’T DRILL FLORIDA
Last night was the FSU/GANNETT Florida Forum on nearshore oil drilling featuring panels of both drilling proponents and opponents. Also included outside the panels were Rep. Dean Cannon(R) and Sen. Mike Haridopolos (R). The forum was billed as an evening discussion of the facts associated with nearshore drilling. Rep. Cannon and Sen. Haridopolos were treated as if they were neutral in the debate and were present to learn more about the issue, but this could not be farther from the truth. Both men, Cannon and Haridopolos, have expressed their support for opening up our shores to oil drilling. Additionally, both men have received campaign dollars from the pro-drilling lobby, including those who work in the same firm as one of the panelists! They may have sat outside of the debate, but there is NO CONFUSION as to where these men stand on this issue. Their “interest” in a public forum on nearshore drilling is patronizing to say the least.
The moderator asked a fair amount of questions for each side. Most were predictable, but decent nonetheless. A brief roundup:
FACTS DEBATED THAT BOTH SIDES WERE IN AGREEMENT OVER:
- Nearshore drilling is a guaranteed risk.
- Nearshore drilling in Florida will NOT significantly affect the United States’ dependence on foreign oil.
- Nearshore drilling will NOT significantly affect gas prices in Florida.
- There is no guarantee that oil exploration will increase revenue to the state.
- Nearshore drilling, even if the the ban is lifted after this upcoming session, will not positively affect Florida’s budget for years.
QUESTIONS WITH TROUBLING ANSWERS:
- The moderator asked one of the pro-drilling panelists and an employee of Florida Energy Associates, just who was financing that organization. Mr. Rancourt decided to keep the names hidden from the public, describing them only as god-fearing, tax-paying Americans. What many of us would like to know is whether they are Floridian or their organization’s name is just a folksy way to market their idea to the public. Most likely the money comes from out of state. Our friend, Eric Draper of Florida Audubon, made a great point regarding the lobbying group’s secret financiers. He said that anyone wishing to purchase a lease on public land should reveal themselves so the people of the state can see with whom they are doing business. Public deals require transparency. Don’t Drill Florida stands by this simple exercise of good governance.
- The nearshore drilling plan includes the usage of submersible oil rigs that require no permanent platform. When asked about the technology, a pro-drilling oil advocate could not provide conclusive evidence to support his case. The question posed to him was about whether these new submersible oil rigs have been tested in CAT-5 hurricane conditions. He answered YES and said the BP Thunder Horse rig in the Gulf of Mexico is one of these new submersible rigs and that it suffered through the tragic hurricane season of 2005, including Katrina and Rita. According to the proponent, the extent of the damage to these rigs was minimal, citing BP, that only a couple of gyros blew out and the computers needed to be restarted. Interestingly, the Thunder Horse Rig is not the same infrastructure planned for Florida.
 The Thunder Horse Rig: the Largest Production Semi-Submersible Ever Built Either way, drilling proponents have made a tragic mistake regarding his credibility on this new technology. As far as we know, the submersible rigs planned for our shores have never been tested in CAT-5 conditions, as no independent research has been completed on this product.
Despite an adequate moderator who was not afraid to cut off long-winded testimony, the absence of invited Democratic legislators caused the night to lack in integrity. It’s almost as if the 3 opposition panelists were there to help create an illusion of democratic policy brokering, when in truth, the nearshore oil drilling bill has already been written. It seems that the plan is now a matter of political marketing to milk the public into supporting this awful idea. Sadly, the Florida Forum itself became a political tool.
Here is one question I’d love Rep. Cannon to answer:
If listening to both sides of this debate so as to “gather facts” is so important to your policy crafting, where were these “6 1/2 hour long committee hearings” and “Floirda Forums” last session, when you voted YES to this plan with no troubles? Facts weren’t important 6 months ago? Have the facts changed?
What bothers me is that Rep. Cannon and Sen. Haridopolos are pretending like their minds aren’t made up, when they clearly are. Floridians deserve better.
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On April 20th, 2010, an semi-submersible oil rig off the coast of Louisiana exploded, killing 11 rig operators and endangering over a hundred others. The rig has since sunk to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. DON’T DRILL FLORIDA would like to use this time to express our condolences to those personally affected by this tragedy, and hope we can learn how to prevent this type of accident happening in the future. Luckily, 115 people survived the explosion and the massive environmental damage this event will cause is well off-shore.