From my friend's FB (she's a retired attorney):
The Trump administration is seeking to open nearly all U.S. coastal waters to oil exploration and drilling. Florida Governor Rick Scott, a Trump supporter and protégé, expressed opposition to the plan to open Florida’s coasts to drilling. We should not be deceived by this glib assertion of opposition, which is nothing more than a political stunt. It is politically advantageous for Scott to appear to align himself with nearly all Floridians on this issue. He is running against democrat Bill Nelson for the U.S. Senate, and it would be political suicide to support drilling off Florida’s coasts. The spurious and political nature of this opposition was demonstrated at the recent hearing in Tallahassee on the proposal to allow big oil full access to our coastlines. Mr. Scott sent representatives to the hearing. Some were young people holding deceptive signs regarding Mr. Scott’s alleged pro-environment positions. Most notable, however, was the statement given by Mr. Scott’s spokesperson. She touted Mr. Scott’s defense of the environment, and then concluded her remarks by inadvertently disclosing Mr. Scott’s true position. She claimed that as a result of the 2010 Deepwater Horizen spill “not a drop of oil touched Florida’s coast” concluding that the damage to Florida’s tourism was a result of perception, not reality.
The oil spill did indeed reach Florida’s coast. I was in Pensacola when it happened. First the fish kill, then the oil sheen, then the men in hazmat suits. It happened, it was devastating, and the effects are still being seen today. The fact that Mr. Scott could send someone to the hearing on drilling who was completely dismissive of the real damage, calling it a problem of “perception” only, is yet another indication that Scott’s opposition to drilling is not informed by real facts and is nothing more than a political stunt.
Consider this: 4 days before Trump’s administration announced the intent to open all areas to oil drilling, Scott met with Trump at Trump’s Mar-A-Lago. Then a few days before the hearing in Tallahassee there was a contrived meeting between Secretary Zinke and Scott at the Tallahassee airport. At the conclusion of that meeting Scott announced a “deal” had been struck to take Florida’s coast off the table. Unfortunately, no one told the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, responsible for the proposal to open coasts to drilling, about this “deal.”
Maybe Florida will be taken off the table, at least until Scott can use this “victory” as a way persuade Floridians that their environment will be as safe under his stewardship as under Nelson’s. Don’t be deceived.
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The Trump administration is seeking to open nearly all U.S. coastal waters to oil exploration and drilling. Florida Governor Rick Scott, a Trump supporter and protégé, expressed opposition to the plan to open Florida’s coasts to drilling. We should not be deceived by this glib assertion of opposition, which is nothing more than a political stunt. It is politically advantageous for Scott to appear to align himself with nearly all Floridians on this issue. He is running against democrat Bill Nelson for the U.S. Senate, and it would be political suicide to support drilling off Florida’s coasts. The spurious and political nature of this opposition was demonstrated at the recent hearing in Tallahassee on the proposal to allow big oil full access to our coastlines. Mr. Scott sent representatives to the hearing. Some were young people holding deceptive signs regarding Mr. Scott’s alleged pro-environment positions. Most notable, however, was the statement given by Mr. Scott’s spokesperson. She touted Mr. Scott’s defense of the environment, and then concluded her remarks by inadvertently disclosing Mr. Scott’s true position. She claimed that as a result of the 2010 Deepwater Horizen spill “not a drop of oil touched Florida’s coast” concluding that the damage to Florida’s tourism was a result of perception, not reality.
The oil spill did indeed reach Florida’s coast. I was in Pensacola when it happened. First the fish kill, then the oil sheen, then the men in hazmat suits. It happened, it was devastating, and the effects are still being seen today. The fact that Mr. Scott could send someone to the hearing on drilling who was completely dismissive of the real damage, calling it a problem of “perception” only, is yet another indication that Scott’s opposition to drilling is not informed by real facts and is nothing more than a political stunt.
Consider this: 4 days before Trump’s administration announced the intent to open all areas to oil drilling, Scott met with Trump at Trump’s Mar-A-Lago. Then a few days before the hearing in Tallahassee there was a contrived meeting between Secretary Zinke and Scott at the Tallahassee airport. At the conclusion of that meeting Scott announced a “deal” had been struck to take Florida’s coast off the table. Unfortunately, no one told the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, responsible for the proposal to open coasts to drilling, about this “deal.”
Maybe Florida will be taken off the table, at least until Scott can use this “victory” as a way persuade Floridians that their environment will be as safe under his stewardship as under Nelson’s. Don’t be deceived.
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