Some in the Florida legislature are proposing oil exploration and drilling within 10 miles of the Florida coastline. According to Environment Florida:
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita destroyed over 100 drilling rigs and platforms and over 450 pipelines. The Minerals Management Service estimated almost one million gallons spilled during the hurricane from offshore facilities; the Coast Guard documented an estimated nine million gallons from onshore and offshore oil facilities were spilled.
Based on the experience of other Gulf drilling operations, small spills, like the 500 gallon spill off a Louisiana rig a few years ago, would be common. A catastrophic spill, one that could close down coastal tourism for weeks or months, is a real possibility.
Florida’s tourism economy is dependent on clean Florida beaches. We should not allow shorted sighted politicians to jeopardize our beaches.
