By: Jack Rogers
Orlando Sentinel
To those who are considering supporting the recent and ever-more-vocal calls to allow offshore drilling along the Florida Gulf coast, I suggest a review of the recent impact of Hurricane Ike on the Gulf Coast.
An Associated Press article in Monday’s Sentinel said that Ike damaged or destroyed hundreds of oil platforms, pipelines and storage tanks, spilling an estimated half-million gallons of crude oil into the waters along the Louisiana and Texas coastlines.
Thousands of complaints have been lodged by coastal residents as debris from the damage has begun to wash up along the coastlines. You can be sure, that despite any assurances to the contrary, the same scenario will occur here, too. I wonder how many tourists will flock down to enjoy our beaches then?
I know why proponents of Florida offshore drilling who claim that our beaches won’t be damaged in many way never point to the Texas beaches as examples of what Florida beaches will be like. I have been to Galveston. No sugar sand beaches there, my friends. Instead, the beaches are composed of unpleasant, rather smelly brown silt.
It is wise to consider the source when you listen to the promises that Florida beaches will remain unspoiled by off-shore drilling and ask yourself who has the most to lost?
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