Top Priority Campaign
Save Florida's Shores
On April 20, BP's Deepwater Horizon offshore platform exploded and caught fire, beginning an environmental, economic and human tragedy. Upwards of one million gallons of oil are spewing into the Gulf every day, putting endangered sea turtles, whales and many other marine animals at great risk.
Environment Florida took immediate action, generating media attention in newspapers and on television, recruiting over 500 of our members to attend Hands Across the Sand events up and down out coastline — and most recently, taking trips to Tampa and Gainesville, where we signed up several hundred new members and pressured President Obama to restore the moratorium on drilling off our shores.
Any major Gulf spill threatens Florida's world-famous coastline, which employs over a million Floridians and pumps $65 billion into Florida's economy each year. As a recent New York Times article put it, Florida skipped the oil binge but is still paying steep prices, as oil wraps around the panhandle and washes ashore Pensacola beach.
The events have led Gov. Charlie Crist, present at a Hands Across the Sand event at Pensacola Beach, to propose a constitutional ban on drilling in our state's waters.
And with good reason. While the risks of offshore drilling are staggering, benefits are minimal. According to a recent study conducted by the prestigious, nonpartisan Collins Center, "Drilling offshore "would have no discernible impact on petroleum prices at the retail level" and "no discernible impact on the state's or the country's dependence on foreign oil."
Yet, the door is still open to drilling off the Florida coast—it's time for President Obama to reverse course.
The Latest:
"Miami faces up to 80% chance of BP oil, U.S. says," Kim Chipman, Business Week.
"Oil soaks miles of Pensacola Beach," Rich Phillips, CNN.com.
"Oil spill takes toll on Florida tourism," Christina Leavenworth, Fox10TV.
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