No Oil drilling off Florida coast

[Brickell]

Florida to consider settlement barring oil drilling

TALLAHASSEE -- The state would score a final win in its 15-year battle to prohibit oil drilling off Florida's shores under a deal to be considered by Gov. Jeb Bush and the Cabinet next week.

The money would go to Coastal Petroleum, the Apalachicola-based company that bought the right to drill within a few miles of most of Florida's west coast in the late 1940s. Coastal has fought to be compensated -- or allowed to drill -- since 1990, the year the state banned offshore drilling.

``I think it's a historic agreement that we are able to get the last two leases in Florida waters and take any threats to those Florida waters away,'' state Environmental Protection Secretary Colleen Castille said....

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/...-home-headlines

[Rock2uf]

Very excellent news.

[bobliocatt]

I guess i'm one of the few who oppose this, since I believe oil drilling off the coast should be allowed. Potentially, there's billions of dollars to Florida's economy sitting under water and I'd rather take advantage of that and drilling in Alaska, then continuing to fool around with the Middle East.

[Brickell]

And risk ruining our prized beaches and environment?

No thanks.

I'm all for energy independence, but allowing drilling here and in Alaska amounts to a band-aid. We need a fundamental change in energy use, not more oil.

[rusthebuss]

And risk ruining are prized beaches and environment?

No thanks.

I'm all for energy independence, but allowing drilling here and in Alaska amounts to a band-aid.  We need a fundamental change in energy use, not more oil.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

They tried to drill for oil off the coast of VaBeach, Virginia but the govenor shot it down.

[rusthebuss]

I guess i'm one of the few who oppose this, since I believe oil drilling off the coast should be allowed.  Potentially, there's billions of dollars to Florida's economy sitting under water and I'd rather take advantage of that and drilling in Alaska, then continuing to fool around with the Middle East.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I agree but there is always problems with oil spills and destruction of the beautiful Florida beaches. It's a hard situation to figure out: destroy the environment or boost our local oil and drop oil prices? I'm not some tree hugger but you still have to protect the environment to a certain degree!

[bobliocatt]

How does the beaches off the coast of Texas look? Whats the condition of the areas surrounding Florida's existing oil fields near Pensacola and the Everglades?

[RiversideGator]

Lake is right. It is both foolish and selfish of people in FL to oppose oil drilling off the coast. Why pay people in the Middle East, who hate us, for oil when the same stuff is just a few miles away?? And, why not create jobs here, not there? As to the environmental danger, it is negligible. They drill right off the Alabama Gulf Coast and their beaches are beautiful with no ill effect. The rigs are miles offshore and are just barely visible. The oil spills you have heard about involve tanker accidents, not oil rigs. The technology is sufficiently advanced to the point where you would not even know they were drilling offshore. I say do it now.

[rusthebuss]

I haven't figured out why the Va. Governor shot the drilling of the coast of VaBeach yet. He didn't want to give a reason for his decision.

[firemick]

It's a tree hugger myth to believe these platforms and the drilling they do is SO terrible for the environment. Just investigate and you will see the the saftey record of drilling offshore is excellent. Well, unless you are a drunken skipper trying to slollam around icebergs off alaska! I am for energy independence and for alternative means of fuel like hydrogen and electric but until lets drill off our shores and sink OPEC and all the arab countries into the ground. (well we do get alot of oil from Russia and Venezuela as well) I dont know if you know this or not, but the USA has the power and resources to bankrupt any country we want to at anytime. We are just nice guys though!

[peaceloveunderstanding]

maybe if the people of flordia were not using so much oil we wouldn't have the problem. Face it, everyone who can needs to contribute. Flordia is one of the more sprawly, car oriented states in the union and it will only continue to grow.

[firemick]

maybe if the people of flordia were not using so much oil we wouldn't have the problem. Face it, everyone who can needs to contribute. Flordia is one of the more sprawly, car oriented states in the union and it will only continue to grow.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You're right i am going to walk to chik-fil-a now and jog to work tommorrow because i have been kinda selfish lately.

[bobliocatt]

maybe if the people of flordia were not using so much oil we wouldn't have the problem. Face it, everyone who can needs to contribute. Flordia is one of the more sprawly, car oriented states in the union and it will only continue to grow.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Your right, like North Carolina, we have our sprawl problems and we do need to contribute more. However, lets not forget we are the densest state in the South and one of the densest in the country.

[peaceloveunderstanding]

indeed. but we don't have oil.

Exactly how far off the coast are these platforms?

[Brickell]

This is still a live issue...

Coastal oil issue worries lawmakers

Despite the recent state victory over drilling close to shore, congressional attempts to weaken Florida's drilling ban and to open waters deep in the Gulf have lawmakers worried.

"Florida's congressional delegation says is it the most aggressive assault on Florida's coast in decades"

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/11874677.htm

[bobliocatt]

Here's a nice map of the areas in debate:

http://www.sptimes.com/2005/06/13/Worldand...rsting_fo.shtml

[bobdreamz]

^ just looking at that map should make any Floridian cringe. Is this what we want for our state? Our waters full of oil platforms dotting the horizon? I hear that you can see them off the coast of Texas , who wants to come to Florida's beaches and see that?

If TX, LA, MS & AL want to sell out their environments to oil corporations let them but Florida should avoid this at all costs.

It isn't worth it and before I hear the argument about gas prices being too high, supply isn't the problem but the refining capacity in the US that can't keep up with demand. This makes about as much sense as drilling in the ANWR.

[zed]

This thread is very interesting. The Republicans made ANWR a huge talking point in order to press for drilling there - and they won. I can't help but wonder if Florida will eventually be targeted - but probably not unless Jeb agrees or is out of office.

Another poster made a great point - Florida is a very car-dependent state and all of those cars require huge amounts of oil to sustain. It is very NIMBY-like for Floridians to decry oil drilling in their state yet live in the latest car-oriented 'planned community' and do all their shopping at suburban strip malls and power centers.

The USA imports over half of its oil consumption these days, and you can make a very good argument that oil supply is a vital national security issue. Today the country and the world can get by without Floridian oil - but I believe that will eventually change. Will it be defensible for Floridians to scream "save our environment" while the country's economy tanks from a shortage of oil? Or if world oil exporters one day decide to cut off the USA? Certainly we know which side the Republican echo chamber will favor..

[csmurphy8885]

Crude oil at all time highs... our beautiful gulf will be corrupted, its just a matter of when. maybe if we can wait five years, the clean-up technology will be good enough to help us feel safe... I wish there wasnt any oil there... (who started the whole fossil fuel thing anyway)

[whiteeclipse]

We need to worry about building nuclear power plants and studying hydrogen energy.