Green Alert: Trump Admin Considers Auctioning Off Florida’s Coastal Waters to Oil and Gas Companies
- Amber Guarino
- Apr 11, 2019
- 2 min read
Even though it could cost Trump the Florida vote in the 2020 election, he and his administration are seriously thinking about auctioning off access to the Gulf of Mexico as well as the Atlantic coast for oil drilling. Trump’s interest in supercharging U.S. energy production is superseding his interest in the Florida vote, the environment, and the feelings and fears of Florida residents. He has expressed openness to drilling off of Florida’s coasts despite the disastrous accident that the Gulf endured in 2010, leaking 3.19 million barrels (over 130 million gallons) of oil into the water, killing approximately 82,000 birds, 6,165 sea turtles, and up to 25,900 marine mammals, including bottlenose dolphins, spinner dolphins, melon-headed whales and sperm whales and which also resulted in the death of 11 men by the initial rig explosion.
Threatening to overtake the Deepwater Horizon’s place as the worst U.S. oil spill is the current spill quietly leaking millions of barrels into the Gulf of Mexico as we speak. Between 300 and 700 barrels of oil per day have been leaking just 12 miles off the coast of Louisiana since 2004, when an oil production platform owned by Taylor Energy sank in a mudslide triggered by Hurricane Ivan. Many of the wells have not been capped. Many federal officials estimate that the spill could continue through this century. The broken wells are releasing so much oil that the researchers studying the damage need respirators.
According the Washington Post, “Taylor Energy declined to comment. The company has argued that there’s no evidence to prove any of the wells are leaking. Last month, the Justice Department submitted an independent analysis showing that the spill was much larger than the one-to-55 barrels per day that the U.S. Coast Guard National Response Center (NRC) claimed, using data supplied by the oil company.” We clearly cannot trust the companies to be conscientious, honest, and take care with the environment. We also cannot trust these companies to supply their own data to the government.
Expansion plans are underway despite the poorly regulated offshore oil industry and the absolute knowledge that the planet needs to wean off of fossil fuels entirely right now. We are backpedalling on environmental missions with plans like these.
Orlando Weekly reports, "Ron DeSantis, Rick Scott and Marco Rubio claim they care about Florida's economy and environment, but they stand idly by as the Trump administration sells out Florida's precious natural resources to Big Oil and Gas," says Florida Democratic Party Chair Terrie Rizzo in a statement.” We need to contact these and all of our state representatives and tell them we do not want want drilling off our coasts!
If you are not sure who your reps are, go to https://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Representatives/representatives.aspx
and click the “Find Your Representative Button on the top left of your screen. Then, type in your address and submit. A list of your representatives will pop up. Contact these civil servants and voice your opinion on this issue.
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Sources:
https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/.../public.../oil.../gulf_oil_spill/a_deadly_toll.html
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