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40,000 Floridians joined hands in June to ask the White House to keep oil drilling far from our shores. Apparently the President was listening after all. |
BREAKING NEWS (and it's Good!)
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - The White House won't allow any new oil drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico for at least the next seven years because of the BP oil spill. A senior administration official told The Associated Press on Wednesday that drilling leases won't be considered in the waters offas part of the change. He spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision hadn't been announced yet. He said that because of the BP spill, the administration now understands the need to elevate safety and environmental standards. Before the spill, the administration had considered a plan to allow drilling in the eastern Gulf. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is expected to discuss the decision later Wednesday afternoon. Florida
We're thrilled that the Obama Administration has recognized that allowing risky new oil drilling off
While the
The real way for Florida to "do its part" to make America more energy independent is for us break our addiction and move beyond oil. Not to drill for it off our shores, but rather to end the monopoly of the automobile. We have few safe choices to do anything other than drive everywhere, every time we go anywhere. Tampa and Orlando are the two most dangerous cities in America to walk or ride a bike. We’re the last state to develop light and commuter rail in most communities, and the chance to have the Western Hemisphere ’s first high speed train is at risk of being derailed by those who want to keep us from having a choice about how we travel our state.
It’s time for Florida to declare its independence from the tyranny of oil, the unending terror it threatens to our state’s economy and environment. In Florida , our economy and our environment are one and the same, and protecting one means protecting the other. It’s time to provide Floridians with real choices in transportation that attract high paying jobs, reduces commuter times, cleans our air from the ozone pollution that acts like a sunburn on our lungs, and finally ends the specter of oil on our beaches that has haunted us for too long. Today’s announcement by the White House gives us the chance to make these long overdue changes. Let’s get to work!
Phil Compton, Field Organizer
Sierra Club Florida
St. Petersburg, FL
Phil Compton, Field Organizer
Sierra Club Florida
St. Petersburg, FL