Gulf Coast residents greet drilling vote with worry and shrugs
Florida's $50-billion tourist industry depends heavily on its beaches. The slightest taint in the emerald waters of the Gulf of Mexico can be enough to send tourists packing. For instance, when red tide plagued southwest Florida last year, out-of-state visitors who got one whiff of all the dead fish quickly canceled their reservations....
"To see the eastern gulf put at risk by Congress is absolutely unthinkable" Nancy Markoe St. Pete Beach
Commissioner
"Tourism is really the only industry in the Keys, If there's nothing to attract tourists, then these Keys are worthless, Everyone's life would be destroyed, including mine." Capt. Adam Brynes' Siren Dive Shop in Summerland Key
"This is dumb to ruin valuable resources for what you're going to get, If you want to totally toast this state and make it nothing but Disney World, then go ahead and drill." Sue Colson Cedar Key Commissioner
Although drilling proponents have repeatedly said Hurricane Katrina caused no significant oil spills, Coast Guard officials say Katrina caused unprecedented damage requiring the largest environmental response in the nation's history. The storm created an 8.1-million gallon oil spill from multiple facilities along the Mississippi River corridor.
Then, during Hurricane Rita, a barge struck a hurricane-damaged submerged platform off the coast of Port Arthur, Texas, spilling 3-million barrels into the gulf, the largest submerged oil spill in U.S. history.....more
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