From: "Mark Ferrulo, Florida PIRG Director" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Florida PIRG Asks You to Save Our Shores
Date: Wed, 17 May 2006 10:18:53 -0400
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Hi Sara,
When Floridians head to the beach this summer, we expect fun and sun.
However, if the oil and gas industry get their way, we may soon find
something else: oil rigs, oil spills, and toxic air and water pollution. We
need to break our dependence on oil, not feed that dependence further. With
less than 3% of the world's oil supplies, we cannot drill our way to energy
independence.
Last week, the U.S. House Appropriations Committee voted to allow drilling
rigs as close as 3 miles from our world famous beaches. The vote to
eliminate the moratorium against offshore drilling that has protected
Florida's coast for over 20 years passed 37-25 and is now headed to the full
House of Representatives for a vote this week.
Please call your representative and urge them to vote to reinstate the ban
on new oil and gas drilling off our coasts. You can reach your
representative at 202-224-3121. If you don't know who your representative
is, that's OK. When you call, tell the operator your zip code and they'll
connect you to the right office.
Here's a sample message you can leave: "Hello, my name is ____ and I live in
_____. I'm calling to urge Rep. _____ to protect our coasts by voting for
the Capps-Putnam-Davis amendment to reinstate the ban on new off-shore
drilling."
After you call, please report your call to us so we can keep track of how
many people are talking to their representatives. Then ask your friends and
family members to help out too by forwarding this message to them.
To report your call, click here or paste this link in your web browser:
http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=149&id4=ES
BACKGROUND:
Florida's coast and marine waters are the destination for thousands of
vacationing families each year, sanctuary for fish and wildlife and provide
the foundation for our quality of life. They are the economic lifeblood for
hundreds of tourism and fishing communities, providing billions of dollars
of economic activity and hundreds of thousands of jobs.
From 1990-1999, 1.8 million gallons of oil were spilled from offshore
drilling platforms and pipelines in U.S. waters--an average of almost 500
gallons a day.
Additionally, each offshore operation produces 214,000 pounds of air
pollutants each year, and tens of thousands of pounds of drilling muds
containing toxics such as mercury, benzene and cadmium are legally
discharged from each drilling platform.
Offshore oil and gas drilling is the slowest, dirtiest and most expensive
way to produce energy.
There are cheaper, cleaner, faster, and longer-term energy solutions like
efficiency and renewables that will start saving consumers and businesses
money today and protect our coastal waters, beaches, and economies.
Adopting both energy efficiency and renewable energy programs would decrease
natural gas prices by $2.05 per million cubic feet, or 37%, in the first
year.
Meanwhile, offshore oil and gas would typically not be available for at
least seven years. But we can immediately start saving money and energy by
increasing the efficiency of our cars, appliances and buildings, and growing
the amount of energy we generate from renewable energy sources like wind and
solar power.
Please call your representative and urge him/her to vote to reinstate the
ban on new oil and gas drilling off our coasts. You can reach your
representative at 202-224-3121. If you don't know who your representative
is, that's OK. When you call, tell the operator your zip code and they'll
connect you to the right office.
Here's a sample message you can leave: "Hello, my name is ____ and I live in
_____. I'm calling to urge Rep. _____ to protect our coasts by voting for
the Capps-Putnam-Davis amendment to reinstate the ban on new off-shore
drilling."
After you call, please report your call to us so we can keep track of how
many people are talking to their representatives. Then ask your friends and
family members to help out too by forwarding this message to them.
To report your call, click here or paste this link in your web browser:
http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=149&id4=ES
Sincerely,
Mark Ferrulo
Florida PIRG Director
[log in to unmask]
http://www.FloridaPIRG.org
P.S. Thanks again for your support. Please feel free to share this e-mail
with your family and friends.
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