{"id":155,"date":"2010-02-12T00:21:22","date_gmt":"2010-02-12T00:21:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.reefrelieffounders.com\/drilling\/?p=155"},"modified":"2010-02-12T00:21:22","modified_gmt":"2010-02-12T00:21:22","slug":"fla-coastal-ocean-coalition-facts-show-coastal-drilling-too-risky-off-floridas-coasts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reefrelieffounders.com\/drilling\/2010\/02\/12\/fla-coastal-ocean-coalition-facts-show-coastal-drilling-too-risky-off-floridas-coasts\/","title":{"rendered":"Fla. Coastal & Ocean Coalition: Facts Show Coastal Drilling Too Risky Off Florida’s Coasts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Florida Coastal and Ocean Coalition<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Caribbean Conservation Corporation & Sea Turtle Survival League\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gulf Restoration Network \u00b7 Indian River Keeper<\/p>\n

Natural Resources Defense Council \u00b7 Reef Relief<\/p>\n

Surfrider Foundation<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.flcoastalandocean.org<\/em><\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

News Release\u00a0\u00a0 Contact: Lindsey Pickel (813) 846.1827<\/p>\n

February 11, 2010<\/p>\n

\u00a0FACTS SHOW COASTAL DRILLING TOO RISKY OFF FLORIDA\u2019S COASTS <\/strong><\/p>\n

Today the Florida Coastal and Ocean Coalition, a group of organizations working together to conserve, protect and restore Florida\u2019s coastal and marine environment, released a factsheet that explores the impacts of offshore drilling on \u00a0Florida\u2019s coast. The factsheet shows that drilling off Florida\u2019s coasts will not only endanger the environment Floridians treasure, but also cause significant economic losses to the state at a time when it is trying to recover from other economic impacts.<\/p>\n

\u201cCatastrophic oil spills, such as the recent Australian spill, remind us of the serious environmental consequences even state of the art technology can create\u201d stated Lindsey Pickel, FCOC Coordinator.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cIt doesn\u2019t make economic sense to threaten Florida\u2019s valuable ocean and coastal economies that depend on clean water, beautiful beaches and abundant fish and wildlife with the pollution and industrialization that accompanies offshore drilling\u201d said Sarah Chasis, Director of NRDC\u2019s Ocean Initiative and a member of the Coalition\u2019s Steering Committee. It makes more sense to invest in clean energy strategies that will create more jobs, spur new business and safeguard Florida\u2019s great assets\u2014its coasts and oceans.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0The facts present clear evidence that Florida\u2019s coastal and ocean economies provide far greater resources and revenues than projected drilling revenues.\u00a0 Ericka D\u2019Avanzo, Florida Regional Manager of Surfrider Foundation stated, \u201cThe proposed oil royalties pale in comparison to the potential damage caused by new coastal infrastructure to support drilling operations, the costs of drilling-related accidents, and, most importantly, Florida’s coastal recreation and marine economies which generated over $550 billion in 2006– almost 300 times more than the driller\u2019s projected annual revenue.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cThe oil industry\u2019s track record across the Gulf of Mexico should be reason enough for Floridians to oppose drilling right off our coast\u201d said\u00a0Joe Murphy, Florida Program Coordinator, Gulf Restoration Network.\u00a0 \u201cSpills, pollution, industrialization, and tar balls are all part of the deal, and it would be a bad deal for Florida.\u00a0 Our coastlines support a fishing industry and tourism industry that is the envy of the nation, and that is too valuable to place in the hands of the oil industry.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0The Florida Coastal and Ocean Coalition\u2019s Factsheet discusses issues such as oil drilling byproducts, oil spills, ocean currents, Florida\u2019s coastal and ocean economies, and the myth that drilling off Florida\u2019s coasts will lower gas prices.\u00a0 “Florida’s coastal\u00a0water quality is critical to the economic lifeblood of Florida’s long term\u00a0survival, and any economic\u00a0recovery in Florida will be driven by the quality, and continued protection of our coastal water\u00a0resources. People don’t visit, start new sustainable businesses,\u00a0or buy homes around polluted beaches and estuaries\u201d, stated George Jones, Executive Director, Indian Riverkeeper.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0Florida\u2019s world renowned beaches support coastal economies and also provide critical habitat for threatened and endangered species \u201cThese beaches host 90% of all the marine turtle nesting in the United States\u201d,\u00a0said Gary Appleson, Policy Director of the Caribbean Conservation Corporation, the world\u2019s oldest marine turtle conservation organization. \u201cThese beaches are already under threat from inappropriate shoreline development and coastal erosion. As Florida works to reduce these threats it should not be adding new ones posed by oil drilling.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cAny spills from peninsular Florida could rapidly move to the coral reefs and mangrove forests of the Florida Keys and southeast Florida via the Loop Current, (a major ocean current in the Gulf of Mexico) creating a major ecological and economic disaster for our state\u201d, said Paul Johnson, Programs and Policy Director for REEF RELIEF, based out of Key West, Florida. \u201cWhat is needed is a comprehensive national energy policy in concert with marine spatial planning of existing ocean activities and resources, before Florida moves forward with any consideration of offshore oil and gas\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u00a0To view the Coalition\u2019s Factsheet, go to www.flcoastalandocean.org<\/a>\u00a0or see attached.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Final Fact Sheet 2-11-2010[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

#\u00a0 #\u00a0 #<\/p>\n

The Florida Coastal and Ocean Coalition is comprised of national and statewide organizations working together to preserve the saltier and sandier sides of Florida.\u00a0 For more information please visit the Coalition\u2019s website www.flcoastalandocean.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Florida Coastal and Ocean Coalition Caribbean Conservation Corporation & Sea Turtle Survival League\u00a0 Gulf Restoration Network \u00b7 Indian River Keeper Natural Resources Defense Council \u00b7 Reef Relief Surfrider Foundation www.flcoastalandocean.org\u00a0 News Release\u00a0\u00a0 Contact: Lindsey Pickel (813) 846.1827 February 11, 2010 \u00a0FACTS SHOW COASTAL DRILLING TOO RISKY OFF FLORIDA\u2019S COASTS Today the Florida Coastal and Ocean … Continue reading Fla. Coastal & Ocean Coalition: Facts Show Coastal Drilling Too Risky Off Florida’s Coasts<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reefrelieffounders.com\/drilling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reefrelieffounders.com\/drilling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reefrelieffounders.com\/drilling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reefrelieffounders.com\/drilling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reefrelieffounders.com\/drilling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=155"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.reefrelieffounders.com\/drilling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":159,"href":"https:\/\/www.reefrelieffounders.com\/drilling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155\/revisions\/159"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reefrelieffounders.com\/drilling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reefrelieffounders.com\/drilling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reefrelieffounders.com\/drilling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}