TALLAHASSEE -- “We are extremely disappointed that Governor Crist has abandoned
his campaign pledge to protect Florida’s
coastal waters and instead sided with Senator McCain and President Bush in
their call to lift the Congressional moratorium on oil and gas drilling in the
outer continental shelf that has protected Florida’s coastline for decades.
The
outer continental shelf has been deemed so special that Congress and
consecutive presidents have protected our coasts under an Outer Continental
Shelf drilling moratorium since 1981. Our coasts provide a destination
for thousands of vacationing families each year, the economic lifeblood for
thousands of tourism and fishing communities and essential habitat for fish and
wildlife.
Offshore
drilling is the slowest, dirtiest, most expensive way to meet our energy needs,
would do nothing to lower gas prices, and will perpetuate the United State’s
dependence on oil, rather than moving the country to a smarter, cleaner energy
future. In addition, the proposal would put Florida’s coastal economy at risk. Tourists to
Florida, many of them drawn to the states beautiful beaches and coastal waters,
generated 85 million visits in 2005, creating almost 1 million jobs and generating
$57 billion in taxable transactions.
The
U.S.
has just 3% of the world’s oil and gas reserves, and we consume approximately
25% of the world’s supply, thus we will never be able to drill our way to
energy independence.
Drilling
proponents argue that lifting the moratorium will bring relief from high gas
prices despite that fact that it would take seven to ten years to bring any new
resources to market, due to the near-term impact on the commodities and futures
markets. However, in 2007, President Bush signed legislation that opened
an additional 8 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico
to new oil and gas drilling. The result is that one year later, gas
prices have hit record highs, while the oil industry is making more money than
ever. Shell profits this quarter were
$9.08 billion, up 25 percent, and BP’s profits soared 63 percent to $7.62
billion.
We
don’t need to open new areas to drilling. Currently, the oil
industry is drilling in just 1,655 of the 7,740 active leases they hold in the
outer continental shelf.
It
is particularly disappointing that Governor Crist, who last summer pledged to
make Florida a leader in reducing global warming pollution and is set to host a
climate change summit in Miami next week, is supporting a proposal that would
accelerate climate change by promoting the outdated, dirty energy sources of
the past.
Instead,
Governor Crist and Florida’s Congressional delegation should work to stop the
Bush Administration from blocking the Clean Cars program, and renew the tax credits
for the renewable energy industry that are set to expire this summer.
These policies will reduce short-term demand and costs while providing
long-term solutions to our energy needs. And they do
not require us to put our most sensitive ecosystems and favorite vacation spots
on the chopping block.”
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