Pensacola News Journal
Hands span coast against offshore oil drilling
Opponents gathering across state to fight oil, gas exploration
BILL COTTERELL * NEWS JOURNAL CAPITAL BUREAU * FEBRUARY 9, 2010
The statewide “Hands Across the Sand” demonstration opposes proposals to permit oil and gas exploration in the Gulf of Mexico. An industry spokesman said Monday the opponents are unfamiliar with cleaner new technology.
“The metaphor of joining hands goes much farther than what’s happening on Saturday,” said Dave Rauschkolb, a Seaside restaurateur who has spent about four months working on the project. “We can beat this in the Legislature if they hear the message of Floridians. We hope to make this a very unpopular thing for any member to vote for.”
Rauschkolb and environmental groups and coastal businesses fear tourism and fishing would be hurt by offshore rigs.
Using social-network sites, they arranged groups in almost every city and county along the coastlines to get like-minded people to the beach on Saturday, most wearing black, to symbolize an oil spill, for a hand-holding protest.
Nobody is estimating how many will turnout in any area, but the idea is to make the opposition highly visible.
“I’m hoping for more than 100 out here,” said Chasidy Hobbs of Pensacola Beach, who works with Emerald Coastkeeper, an environmental group. “We believe the economic benefits that can be gained from oil drilling are nowhere near the economic benefits that Florida reaps already from our coastline.”
Despite a surge of support in the Florida House last session, when a bill authorizing the governor and Cabinet to grant drilling leases was passed but stalled in the Senate, opponents are fired up and confident for the session starting March 2.
Dave Mica, executive director of the Florida Petroleum Council, said House Speaker-designate Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, remains an enthusiastic advocate of authorizing future leasing. Senate President Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, has told committees in his chamber to make a thorough study of tax benefits, jobs and environmental implications of drilling, effectively slowing the proposal.
“We hope we can at least create the framework legally for the state to process leases,” said Mica. “There will always be some detractors, but we believe they’re not looking at what the industry is doing now, in terms of being able to protect the coast.”