Hands Across the Sand-Join us to stop near shore Oil Drilling In Florida Waters

[Grayton Girl]

Correct unless it is a privately owned lot and said owner allowed this or erected it themself.

Which is exactly what happened. My sign, my land, my opinion.

Don't any of you vigilantes take this sign down!!

 

[jodiFL]

The projection of that trend eastward would put it over 60 miles out

If that is the case the new legislation would not be necessary since the current moratorium only bans near shore drilling. They want to have the option to drill within 3 miles of our beaches and that is not acceptable.
And the platform on the previous page traveled about 65 miles before reaching Dauphin Island.

 

[murphrg]

That was not a platform, it was a drilling jack-up rig storm waves were obviously very large, and if you were here for Opal you would have seen cars, trucks, and wrecks washed up on the beach here. Other storms have washed up military drones and ordinance on these beaches as well. I'm not saying there are no risks in this life, or that I am for drilling within 3 miles of our beach. But you can still realize there are two sides to the discussion, and the problems are not easy ignore for either possition.

 

[scooterbug44]

Murphg -
It's great to hear from someone who knows about/is involved in the issue we are discussing, but if what you say is true, I don't understand why these companies are pushing for this legislation.

I think that natural gas has more of a future than oil - especially with ol' T. Boone being so driven in developing and promoting it.

All I know for sure is that drilling offshore in Florida is a HORRIBLE idea that would be a coffin nail for tourism.

 

[murphrg]

If you think there will never be drilling off of Florida remember never is a long time. Just think back 18 months ago with high energy prices and people afraid they would freeze in their homes in the winter. It is bigger that just us. I just think it is better to have an energy policy that can be monitored by the US of A and under our laws, than to be in a vacuume of policy and reacting to emergency panic mentality. I think T Boone is absolutely spot on!!

 

[David Pleat]

no economic sense

If you think there will never be drilling off of Florida remember never is a long time. Just think back 18 months ago with high energy prices and people afraid they would freeze in their homes in the winter. It is bigger that just us. I just think it is better to have an energy policy that can be monitored by the US of A and under our laws, than to be in a vacuume of policy and reacting to emergency panic mentality. I think T Boone is absolutely spot on!!

Beyond the environmental issue is the economic issue. Why place your mulit billion dollar tourist and military economy in jeapordy for a future promise of 2-3 billion a year down the road? 120 billion v. 2? Not a single guarenteed job for Floridians? Texas to benefit but not our State while giving up our most valuable commodity?

 

[Miss Critter]

Beyond the environmental issue is the economic issue. Why place your mulit billion dollar tourist and military economy in jeapordy for a future promise of 2-3 billion a year down the road? 120 billion v. 2? Not a single guarenteed job for Floridians? Texas to benefit but not our State while giving up our most valuable commodity?[/quote]

Dead on. Reminds me of this scene from the movie Independence Day:

Gen. Gray: Are you all right?
President Thomas Whitmore: I saw... its thoughts. I saw what they're planning to do. They're like locusts. They're moving from planet to planet... their whole civilization. After they've consumed every natural resource they move on... and we're next. Nuke 'em. Let's nuke the b*stards. <but Dave's idea is probably better >

 

[Geo]

It is nice to see that this community can jump to it at a moments notice for environmental purposes. I remember well the efforts we put out with the "Trust" working tirelessly to protect the State Forest lands from development, (I don't know we have won that one yet). I have a few contrary ideas on this one though. There is an amazing amount of misinformation that gets passed around as fact in this internet age, and often it gets so distorted that people act on it as if it were absolute fact. There are many facts regarding the effort to allow drilling in the offshore areas of Florida that are totally ignored and may cause us in rushing into erecting protests that are not pertinent.
Fact:
The targets for POTENTIAL drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico are the Jurassic Norphlet formation, 200 million year old sand dunes. This formation produces off Mobile Bay and is at a depth of over 25,000' there. These wells cost in the neighborhood of $100 million to drill. The projection of that trend eastward would put it over 60 miles out, undetectable from our beaches, and in a high temperature and pressure environment which in plain physics could only produce Gas.
Fact:
There is an enormous "Resource" play going on in the interior parts of the US that has unlocked an enormous amounts of natural gas previously thought to be unproducible. This gas is a clean burning fuel that hopefuly will displace some very expensive imported oil. Some estimates are in the order of 100 years of reserves at current rates of consumption, making the economics of drilling 5 miles down for gas very questionable.
Fact:
The moratorium on drilling in the eastern gulf has extended all the way to the Canadian border on the east coast. There is development of gas fields in the Areas of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. The US has no idea what we have out there as no remote sensing of geophysical surveys have been performed since 1975.
Fact:
Cuba is leasing blocks of its offshore to foreign governments to evaluate its northern coast. South Florida already has oil fields on the west coast in the "Sunniland Formation", a Cretaceous limestone about 100 million years old.. There is a very good chance that additional hydrocarbons could be found off the west coast of southern Florida.

I can't help but feel we are preaching from a fragile pulpit when you project images of oil spills and rigs in the surf, ignoring the excellent environmental record of the last two decades when we have tough environmental laws with sharp teeth, and the courage to enforce them. When the price of gasoline reaches $5 a gallon and the weekly visitors that support most of our economy do not appear who are we going to blame? The oil companies!

I am a Professional Geologist licensed in Florida having been in the area since 1980, I have worked in the Oil and Gas business as well as in the environmental side both as a volunteer and as a professional and have sat quietly for a long time here watching ignorance of coastal geological processes lead to "Beach Renourishment " insanity, and the building on top of primary dunes and then being surprised by erosion. It occurs to me this fanatical response to drilling offshore is not our immediate need in South Walton. The need of the panhandle region for a stable economy that can survive the ups and downs of the tourist industry and offer jobs more rewarding than cleaning houses and bussing tables to our youths and allow them to live here as professionals after graduation should be considered with attention to facts rather than fancies.
I really do not believe the offshore drilling effort would impact our area in any event, but we should be considering more than a new Publix as economic development!

Hi Murphrg,

With all due respect, you don't write like a geologist seeking to interject science and objectivity into the discussion. Below is my interpretation of your post-

You start out citing your concerns that misinformation and the ignoring of facts will cause folks to "[rush] into erecting protests that are not pertinent". Then you provide four "facts" that seem to be completely irrelevant to what we are protesting.

Your first "fact" implies (let me know if I am misreading/misinterpreting your words) that folks have no need to protest because the real target for drilling would actually be 60 miles out and that it wouldn't be oil but rather it would be for a gas. If this was the case, oil companies wouldn't be lobbying our politicians to lift the ban.

Your second "fact" implies (let me know if I am misreading/misinterpreting your words) that folks have no need to protest because recent developments are making it possible for 100 years of natural gas to be accessed thereby making it less likely that drilling would occur for oil because it wouldn't make economic sense. If this was the case, oil companies wouldn't be lobbying our politicians to lift the ban.

Your third "fact" implies (let me know if I am misreading/misinterpreting your words) that folks have no need to protest because there may be massive gas fields northeast of the US near Canada but that we can't be sure because we haven't really explored since the mid 70's. This one left me scratching my head. Are you saying that another reason to support the lifting of the ban on drilling is so that we can go see what is up there near Canada?

Your fourth "fact" implies (let me know if I am misreading/misinterpreting your words) that folks have no need to protest because Cuba is allowing foreign governments to explore and drill near us and you think there might be something to drill for off the Western coast of FL.

Please help me to understand how/why any of these four facts would/should cause any logical person to conclude that we should lift the ban on drilling?

So continuing with my analysis of your post-

In the next section, you went on to say that you feel that when SoWallers post the (actual/undoctored images) of recent oil spills and free floating oil rigs in the ocean that they are "preaching from a fragile pulpit" and "ignoring the excellent environmental record of the last two decades" for offshore drilling. Then you praise our "tough environmental laws" stating that they have "sharp teeth" and that we have the "courage to enforce" them. And you provide some fear mongering in the form of $5 per gallon gas prices which would hurt our local economy by keeping the tourists away.

Then after making the case that your professional background includes working for both the interests of big oil and the environment, you went on to provide your commentary about issues such as Beach Renourishment and the practice of building proximity to dunes.

Next you call our cause- our opposition to offshore drilling a "fanatical response" that is "not our immediate need in South Walton". You provide us with your opinion of our immediate need which is an economy that isn't so reliant on tourism so that our youth can "live here as professionals after graduation".

Then you jabbed Publix! Be careful, brother! You don't want to get banned from enjoying those $1.99 chicken breast specials! haha (I knew I'd find a way to be lighthearted somewhere in here).

Well, that about sums up why you don't sound like an objective geologist to me.

Any odds you will share with us your identity? Perhaps this will enhance your credibility for those with whom you disagree...



Can't wait for your response...

Geo

 

[Lake View Too]

Geo: I love your analytical and reasonable responses. From my understanding of the situation, there are already huge known reserves of natural gas in many other locations across the US. The problem isn't in producing vast quantities of natural gas, but the rather overwhelming task of converting our fleet of cars and trucks to that kind of fuel. This certainly won't happen unless the oil companies want it to happen. So don't hold your breath. It doesn't seem the least bit relevant to off-shore drilling in the eastern Gulf. The most important point is the infintesimally small return we might possibly gain from such a huge risk. If anybody thinks off-shore drilling in the eastern Gulf would change the price of gasoline (a world-wide market) they are being extraordinarily naive.

 

[jjnole04]

im not so sure that was analytical nor reasonable sounded like reductio ad ridiculum to me

side note: way to go dave not only spearheading a noble cause but got your restaurants name all over the state...double threat guy i like it

perhaps once this is defeated and never to return we can stand up against the oil rigs already pumping oil in big cypress and shut them down