Being a boater, a Florida Native (5th generation N. FL redneck) and
former oilfield engineer (I did drillstem testing so I truly know
about drilling operations), I think I am knowledgable about the
relative perils of offshore drilling in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico.
Over the years, I have seen my home state befouled by the tourist and
real estate industry and overrun by people who simply do not belong
here. By comparison to the plague of yankees who have descended on us
drilling is purely benign yet tourism is considered clean industry.
MY beaches are now covered by northern condo filth to the extent that
I cannot even see the beach along highway 98 in Panama City and
Destin. Along MY barrier islands I have been threatened by idjit
snowbirds who think they actually own the beach in front of their
trashy stilt homes ruining MY dunes.
The salt marshes that produce most of food in the coastal food chain
that have been filled for building apartments will NEVER come back.
By comparison, Prince William Sound is almost the same as it was
before Exxon Valdez. Yet, we are not even talking about oil spills
here, THIS IS GAS DRILLING, NOT OIL. Any conceivable accident from
gas drilling is insignificant to that done each week by the tourist
industry.
Fishing boats from NW FL go to the waters of Alabama and LA because
they have better fishing BECAUSE of the oil industry. The drilling
rigs provide habitat for fish.
Local politicians here in N. FL pandering to the fears of foolish
liberals tell us that tourism provides jobs but all they provide is
minimum wage seasonable jobs. The gas industry provides very high
wage permanent jobs. Given a choice between being a cashier at a
Panama City Hot Dog Stand for $6.00/hr or a welder offshore, which
would you choose?