Please say "NO" to Offshore Drilling

The following joint letter has been issued by Last Stand and Reef Relief. You will also see it in the local papers....

Speak out now on offshore drilling Last Stand and Reef Relief, two conservation organizations based in Key West, urge you to contact Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, and our congressional delegates today. Encourage them to protect our coral reefs, beaches, commercial fishing industry and tourism economy from the impacts of offshore oil drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. There is more information and an online petition at www. reefrelief.org that you can sign, along with a sample letter you can send. We urge our representatives to protect Florida’s endangered coral reefs and all of America’s valuable marine environments on the outer continental shelf of America from offshore oil exploration and development. The current congressional bans on offshore drilling are there for good reason; the Keys are downstream of the toxic drilling muds. The current effort to open up these areas will neither lower gas prices nor solve our long-term energy needs. But they will jeopardize our tourism and commercial fishing industries for a few days of oil when better, renewable resources exist. Florida is the Sunshine State — let’s pursue being free of fossil fuels by investing in readily available non-polluting alternatives so that our economy and quality of life is protected for now and for future generations. Stop the oil subsidies in Congress now and invest in renewables; Congress has failed to renew legislation that provides tax credits for renewal energy, but there’s still time for that vote. If the United States had invested in renewables years ago, as other countries have done, we would not be held hostage to the oil interests today. Please consider this viewpoint as the issue of offshore oil and gas development is raised within the context of our current energy crisis. If we make wise decisions now, we can be safe, secure and healthy. Let’s restore, not risk, our oceans so that we benefit from vibrant coral reefs, clean coastal waters and abundant fisheries. Albert Sullivan, President, Last Stand DeeVon Quirolo, Executive director, Reef Relief