With all due homage to David Letterman, there are at least 10 "top" reasons (and dozens more) as to why off shore drilling for oil in Florida is a horrible idea:
10. Tar Balls Ruin Your Day and Are Bad for Tourism. If you've ever been to a beach that is plagued with tar balls (such as Galveston), you won't ever want to go back. (So much for the tourism we depend upon.) "Tar balls" are the remnants of spilled oil that wash up on the beach--lovely black globs of tar of various shapes and sizes that are soft and sticky and stain your hands, feet, clothing and wildlife. You can encounter them in the water or on the sand--and both situations will make you wish you'd never gone to the beach. There's nothing quite like walking barefoot and stepping on a tar ball, and then struggling to get it off your feet and hands. (Hmmm, this Grouper Sandwich tastes a little heavy on the 10W-30 side....) Some say that chemical solvents are the fastest way to get the tar off your skin, but not necessarily a safe idea. Get the picture? Tar Balls--we don't have them, we don't EVER want them. Period.
9. There Is No Such Thing As a 100% Safe Drilling Process. Although proponents of offshore drilling tell us that "new technologies" are much safer and have "little impact" on the environment, no one wants to define "little." There is leakage and spillage in the drilling process--EVERY TIME. Don't be fooled by that person who stands to profit from this venture telling you that it is "completely safe." No how, no way!
8. Hurricanes Topple Oil Rigs. Why would we want to fill up the Gulf of Mexico with oil rigs when we have several named storms in the Gulf each year and are bound to have more and more as global warming continues. A Category 4 or 5 hurricane never met a drilling platform it couldn't damage (and don't forget about the imbedded tornadoes in those storms). We are already severely over-extended with the huge exposure that we have created on land with Citizens Insurance. With all of the state's current liabilities (as the guarantor of Citizens) to fix our homes after a major Hurricane (or after 4 Hurricanes in one season as we had a few years ago) the State of Florida is going to be financially wiped out and won't have the ability to clean up any oil spills from those same storms.
7. The Risk Is Higher Than The Reward. The proponents of offshore drilling have LOTS of answers to provide before they will ever convince Floridians as to why offshore drilling is beneficial to the State of Florida. Here are just a few of the hundreds of questions that should be answered under oath before our legislators even think of going along with this boondoggle. Exactly how much money will the State receive for the leases? When will it be paid? What are our guarantees? Who will pay for cleanups of spills? How much does an oil spill clean up cost today? How much will it cost in 5, 10 or 15 years? How much will the State have to pay to clean up spills? Will it be more than the State received for the leases? (Wanna bet?) How much will we lose in sales tax revenues (and for how many years) if there is an Exxon Valdez type of spill (for example from a Hurricane)? Aren't there other sources of revenue for the State that don't have any environmental risk and don't have potentially unlimited liability to the State for clean up costs?
6. We Won't Receive Cheap Prices For Fuel. If you think for a second that drilling in the Gulf will lower gas prices for Floridians, you don't understand the money grabbing capitalistic system. The oil companies that want to drill in the Gulf will sell that oil when they want to, to the highest bidder. That's why there are many existing wells that are already producing in the Gulf that have been "capped" until oil prices spike again. Why would an oil company sell it cheaply now when they can sell it at a higher price later? What makes Floridians think that the oil drilled here will be sold here? Do you think if the Chinese are willing to pay a higher price that it won't be sold to them? Wake up and taste the tar balls.
5. We Need To Get Off The Sauce. The First Step in getting cured from an addiction is to admit that you have an addiction. We use more oil than we have or can produce. The sources in the Gulf won't fix that problem--there will never be enough. We are going to run out, and we are destroying the planet by delaying the weaning process any longer. Are we that thoughtless about the quality of life that we will leave for our children and grandchildren? I certanly hope not. We need to pour our efforts into alternative sources of energy to leave them a planet that is liveable. Every dollar spent to pursue this outdated energy source is another nail in the coffin. We can't get a "planet transplant" the way that someone gets a liver transplant after years of addiction.
4. Our Beaches Are Irreplaceable. We don't have tar balls and nasty beaches only because we have stayed steadfastly opposed to offshore drilling. Our beaches are amazing treasures that people from around the world come back to visit year after year. If we ruin them, they will never be as good as they are right now. We cannot run that risk.
3. We Are Addicted To Sales Tax Revenue. Floridians are selfish. We want others to pay for the cost of running our State. The more tax money we can get visitors to pay, the better we like it. If this current recession has not taught us anything else, it should teach us that sales tax revenues are fluctuating fickle things when the economy turns sour and people have less disposable income to spend on vacations. It's hard to make a State budget when we don't know how much revenue we may collect. Enduring an "off season" or two is bad enough. Image if the tourists didn't come back for years (or ever) because of a massive spill that ruined the Pinellas, Manatee and Sarasota County beaches for a decade. How would the State of Florida and our local governments survive financially? I don't think the oil companies want to pay THAT much for the leases, do you?
2. Republicans Can't Really Hate Our Beautiful State. Let's face facts. The Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate are both heavily controlled by the Republican Party. We have a Republican Governor. For some reason, this issue of oil drilling seems to be an issue that Republicans like. Remember the chants at the GOP National Convention of "Drill Baby Drill?" While I can somewhat understand getting temporarily carried away with enthusiasm on a National Convention Floor--after all, we've all had times when perhaps we had one too many and weren't particularly proud of what we did-- but, certainly, in a time of quiet reflection, this oil drilling business just HAS TO BE a non-partisan issue for Floridians. The truth of the matter is that only Floridians live here. Surely we understand the precious and irreplaceable nature of our State resources, don't we? We know that drilling won't solve the nation's energy needs and that the risks to our State are too great. We know that any drilling will be years away and won't have ANY short term benefits to us. So where's the fire? Where's the rush? What's really in it for us? Floridians know that we don't have to let others come into our State and pillage it for profit and leave us with a huge mess to clean up. But frankly, we are at the mercy of the Republican controlled State government in Florida as to whether our most precious resources will be protected, and it's high time that they stand up for Florida. If the House and Senate and Governor want to sell us out, they can. I just hope and pray that they will not. It's time for thoughtful governance. We won't get a Mulligan if this shot gets hit out of bounds. I am glad to finally hear and see some signs that Republican leaders are saying "slow down, not so fast." Now, if we can only begin to hear them say, "No way, no how."
1. Because We Don't Need All This Secrecy. We don't know ANYTHING about who is proposing to purchase the drilling rights off our coast. Why is there so much damn secrecy? Why was a drilling bill brought up late in last year's legislative session-- almost as a sneak attack? Why were there no hearings last year where experts were required to testify and answer questions, under oath, on the many important issues involved? Don't we need to know if the companies who will do the drilling have the financial wherewithal to fund the cleanups? And, given what we've seen in terms of large corporations failing in the last year, how can we EVER be comfortable that they will be able to answer the call when its time to step up and do the clean up? At the very least we should be talking about requiring these companies to put their money up front (in cash bonds) to fund cleanups (asuming we can get the answer to the primary question of how much these cleanups may cost)....and if we can't get that basic answer, we know that we have to just say NO to drilling, now and forever.
There is only one Florida. It must be treated as a treasure.
This issue must be debated thoroughly and deliberately and in the Sunshine.
I've been to the beach in Galveston--stepped on tar balls--never again.
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