Poll: 51 percent of Floridians OK drilling 100 miles from shore

Bradenton Herald ^ | May. 25, 2006 | BILL KACZOR

[Halfmanhalfamazing]

Floridians support lifting a ban on oil drilling 100 miles or more from the state's Gulf Coast beaches by a 51 to 42 percent majority, and many say rising gasoline prices have influenced their approval, a poll(Quinnipiac) released Thursday showed.

[Halfmanhalfamazing]

Hmmm, AP. So it's not a secret. It's almost as if CNN or anybody else just isn't interested in this...............

[Swanks]

Womder what percentage of people in MA, CT, NY want $5.00 a gallon gasoline.

[Doc Hunter]

This has got to be the funniest video I’ve seen.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0tJ5fjTMfE.



Would someone please tell this honorable Congressional Representative that Congress that has gotten us $3.00 gas because of their refusal to drill off shore. They have forced the oil companies to seek their "supply" from alternate sources--overseas. Some of those governments are friendly, but most are not. Our Congress has placed our National Security in the hands of foreign governments. And, this idiot surely portrays the level of intelligence we have in our Congress. She doesn’t even know how to spell Free Market nor does she understand it.

[elfman2]

And 75% of those are willing to have China do it for half price.

[Guard Dog]

If we don't do it, the Cubans will!

[sgtbono2002]

Exactly: When you wake the **** up and realise that the Chiniese are going to be drilling 45 miles off our coast anyway you have to be a damned fool or a Dem or RINO Senator to not want the drilling to be done by the USA.

[LadyNavyVet]

Maybe this poll will wake up some of Florida's politicians, who still ridiculously believe it'll look bad for the tourists.

[Guard Dog]

And why the heck should they care about the safety and enviormental stability of their rigs, the oil won't be washing up on their shores. We should have been all over this years ago!

[mission9]

Katheryn Harris has been endorsed by Mel Martinez. Katheryn's and Mel Martinez' stand on Gulf Drilling is the same as Bill Nelson (they both agree on immigration too) - drilling would harm the beaches. So much for conservative leadership in the senate for Florida.

[epow]

I would wager (if I were a betting man) that 90% of Floridians would approve drilling 100 yards offshore in the gulf if gas goes to $5 or $6 a gallon. Nothing like a little financial adversity in the family budget to turn an eco-nutcase into a drill-it-all-and-damn-the-fishes advocate.

I don't think there is much of anything resembling public transportation in FL. It seems that every retired geezer in FL has a big 25-year old American luxury car that is his or her only mode of transportation to the mall and bingo parlor. If they can't afford gas for those old 10 mpg Caddys and Town Cars their lives will be limited to the shuffleboard courts and card tables at the retirement condo complex.

[freeangel]

"anybody else just isn't interested in this"

Our elected officials in Washington are telling us all what they think of US citizens opinions. The only way to change what is going on there is to vote the jerks out next election--dems and rhinos- who disregard the wishes of their constituents. Many of us don't have the money/lobbying power of big business and other lobbies--but we WILL have voting records to get the word out.

[Guard Dog]

Katheryn Harris has been endorsed by Mel Martinez. Katheryn's and Mel Martinez' stand on Gulf Drilling is the same as Bill Nelson (they both agree on immigration too) - drilling would harm the beaches. So much for conservative leadership in the senate for Florida.

The Chinese or Cubans will not give a rats butt for the quality of Floridas beaches when they start drilling there because we did not.

[mikeybaby]

It's even worse than people imagine.
Even if we could drill offshore WE DON'T HAVE THE RIGS.
Do you think the oil guys would risk $200-300 million just to put a rig in stock on the ouside chance that they maybe, might be, get a chance to use it?
Many elected leaders have never had a truly private sector job.
And no, team leader for the office of community development doesn't count.
Nor does heading up the Diversity Department at Marion Middle School.
That's why I continue to vote R.
I don't think they will save the Country-Only we'll lose it more slowly.

[meyer]

But, but what about the "tourists"? Wasn't that the reason given for not wanting to drill ofshore near Florida?

[Thermalseeker]

Exactly: When you wake the **** up and realise that the Chiniese are going to be drilling 45 miles off our coast anyway you have to be a damned fool or a Dem or RINO Senator to not want the drilling to be done by the USA

We have some of the most stringent environmental regulations on the planet when it comes to oil exploration and drilling. Nations like Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Venezuela and others do not. Effectively, what these clowns are saying is it's okay to pollute in far away countries so long as they can't see it. Blithering idiots.....

[Redmen4ever]

Being as far behind as she is, Ms Harris has to do something to jump start her campaign, and the price of oil may be just the thing.

She can not only talk about the high price at the pump, but how revenues to the state of Florida (from the way the federal government shares its fees on drilling companies with the states in which the drilling is done) could help lower the property tax in Florida.

This would pit the tourist industry / green activists against the consumers and taxpayers of the state; and, in such a re-shuffle of the deck, I'd like her odds.

Plus, Ms Harris would give a reason for her campaign other than ambition.

[kittymyrib]

You must have missed the thread yesterday about the Florida geezers living in The Villages having an epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases. They might be giving up Bingo.....

[Suzy Quzy]

That means that 49% of the people are stupid.

[hershey]

Oh, who cares if China and Cuba lay claim to all the oil in the sea around Fla. If they foul and pollute the sea and kill all fish, etc.. If we drive at 55 mph and wear sweaters in the winter, we won't notice.

[backhoe]

I have been covering, ( Or, as Seamole puts it...-backhoe's pseudoblog--... ) pseudo-blogging, this issue for years, so allow me to drop out of Lurk & Link mode for a rare bit of commentary-- we all need to get serious about our dependency on foreign sources of energy, and use our own resources.

Our consumer-based economy is driven by and dependent upon readily-available, reliable energy-- choke that off, and we'll all be back to using one rotary dial phone in the dining room, watching one TV in the living room, and driving one car per family-- probably a Hudson Hornet or a Nash Metropolitan...

We need to

1) end the nonsensical ban on offshore drilling off California and Florida--read & weep:
Castro Plans to Drill 45 Miles from US Shores, But We Can't

2) build a lot of next-generation nuclear power plants, not just for electricity, but for any process requiring heat, power, or steam.
And if we replaced our existing nuclear plants with this one there would be significant benefits.

3) end Jimmy Carter's idiotic ban on recycling nuclear waste, and reprocess the stuff rather than fighting over where to bury it. Europe has done this for decades.-- what to do with spent nuclear fuel? Answer here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1468321/posts?page=50#50 hattip:  Mike (former Navy Nuclear Engineer)

4) use the 300-500 years worth of coal we have on our own land, using the new clean-coal technology.
-Clean Coal Centre--

5) and finally, there's nothing wrong with conservation, we should all practice it- but you can't conserve your way out of a shortage. Nor is there anything wrong with "alternative" energy sources- except they don't supply the vast ( not to mention readily-available ) amounts of power we need at a price competitive to more conventional sources. Then again, there is this to ponder:
Energy From the Gulf Stream
http://www.energy.gatech.edu/presentations/mhoover.pdf

We do need to get serious about this before we get strangled by a bunch of petty thieves and dictators who don't like us much.

My tongue-in-cheek collection of energy-related links:

Sticker Shock-$3 a gallon gas? Click the picture:

And kindly note, and note well-- the first reply to this post ( when gas was $1.45 a gallon ) was derisive... so, who's laughing now?

Vest-Pocket Summary:

1- drill for gas & oil like crazy- onshore, offshore, and in Alaska
2- go nuclear for power
3- convert stationary plants to clean coal technology or Next-Gen Nuclear
4- slash taxes and regulations like crazy

[Swanks]

90% of Floridians would approve drilling 100 yards offshore in the gulf if gas goes to $5 or $6 a gallon. No, FL solution would be to keep $3.00 gas and have the rest of the country pay $7.00 to cover their costs. Kinda like a drug RX plan too.

[Lucky2]

I heard Rush say the other day that Mexico is already drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and I think he mentioned a couple of other countries as well!

[CPOSharky]

States where pols vote NO to domestic exploration get double gas prices. YES states get half prices.

[BW2221]

Only 42% voted "No." There's a 7% undecided element, which it is very possible to win over.

[pepsionice]

I can understand them wanting absolute control within 12 miles of the coast...but after that...its not within US control. Any fool who wants to drill 18 miles off the coast of Miami...ought to be able to do it...end of the story.

[mission9]

I am currently holding the leaders of Florida's feet to the fire on your agenda. Please check out www.100ideas.org and search, drilling, gulf, or energy. Keep up the good work,
there is no lack of energy, only a lack of leadership.

[backhoe]

Thank you- let me make that clickable, and I'll take a look:

http://www.100ideas.org

[khnyny]

IMHO, gas prices will continue to drop (at least in the short term). It is my understanding that US refining capacity is a big part of the problem, not necessarily the amount of oil available. Big oil is reluctant to make big investment.

http://today.reuters.com/business/newsArticle.aspx?type=ousiv&storyID=2006-05-26T152950Z_01_N26424657_RTRIDST_0_BUSINESSPRO-ENERGY-SUMMIT-INVESTMENT-DC.XML

"Oil companies say it will take years before any investments they decide to make now come online in the form of new production or refining capacity. By that time, prices may well have come down from current highs."

You could infer from the above statement that everyone is working like crazy to come up with new technology and oil may take a backseat in the coming years and/or decades.

[khnyny]

LOL, the Cubans aren't exactly a threat, and the minute Castro croaks, the US will take over. US and multi-national corps are salivating at the thought and can't wait.

http://www.globalpolicy.org/socecon/develop/oda/2004/0625cubaaid.htm

[lewislynn]

Poll: 51 percent of Floridians OK drilling 100 miles from shore

Doesn't matter what Floridians want, Jeb Bush is against it, probably at the request of the record profit oil companies. Why would they want to add to the supply? That would only cost money and lower the price.

[ScottfromNJ]

Congress recently rejected drilling as close as 3 miles from our shores. If they pushed it back to 100 miles, drilling might have a better shot at passing which is better then nothing.

Still, there's a substanial amount of oil close to our shores that will eventually need to be tapped, enough to greatly reduce our foreign imports.

[jch10]

That 49% moved down here and keep us native Floridians from being totally conservative!

[Phantom Lord]

Floridians support lifting a ban on oil drilling 100 miles or more from the state's Gulf Coast beaches

Thats fine. But China/Cuba will be drilling within 50 miles soon.

[Phantom Lord]

And 75% of those are willing to have China do it for half price.

Though you were at least half joking, China has entered a joint venture with Cuba and they will be drilling within 50 miles of Flordia shortly.

[epow]

They might be giving up Bingo.....

Uh-oh, don't want to think about that. Oh well, at least they won't reproduce and it will keep them off the streets at at night.

Hey what am I saying, I'm a junior grade geezer myself now. Ouch.

[epow]

When I moved out of FL after spending most of 59 years there there was not another native Floridian in my neighborhood AFAIK. When I was born there were less that 2 million residents of FL, and by far the great majority of them were natives. Now the population is approaching 16 million and the overwhelming majority are not natives.

I got along fine with the mid westerners who came down there and made many lasting friends among them, but some of the folks from the northeastern states could be a real pain in the you know where to deal with. They move down because of the weather, but they want to make everything else just like it was back in the ultra-liberal northeast.

[David Allen]

When gasoline hits $5 a gallon, maybe we can get the drilling done we need, in the gulf coast and ANWR. Off the west coast, too, unless they want to pay MORE. Why should 5 states take all the enviromental risks so those on the west coast can take the easy way out?

[CBart95]

Stop this little goose chase right this second.

Residents of any state have no say so whatsoever in what goes on beyond the 3-mile limit offshore of their state.

The Feds may have. And any encroachment by a foriegn entity in waters outside our boundaries might be deemed an act of war or aggression and treated accordingly.

If it was not so stupid, it might be humorous to see the goofballs and dodos who jump into a thread like this with their ridiculous "fixes" for $5.00 per. gal. gasoline.

Witnessing the feeding frenzy of our dear fellow citizens is depressing and even alarming because they seem to have less than a third grade knowledge of just about everything and are clamoring to tell anybody off at the drop of a hat.

It's small wonder that we have "nightmare" Presidential candidates like Gore,Kerry, Hillary and McCain to chose from...they reflect the inannity of the citizenry.

When you stop to consider the amount of morons on hand it is much more easy to understand why we are overrun by some 30-40 million invaders and all the morons want is to build a fence and grant the invaders amnesty.

[painter]

Bump for later.

[Sam Cree]

Think of the fishing possibilities alone on the rigs. I guess that wouldn't bring tourists or anything. /sarc

[demkicker]

My husband calls it the 6 out of 10 rule although he said it needs to be amended to 7 out of 10.

The Rule: 6 (or 7) out of 10 people today are morons.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Harris has an ACU rating of 92 and can be persuaded to change on the issue.

With Nelson, you're going to get zilch.

[mission9]

We are going to get Nelson no matter how I vote. The question is - will Katherine get my money and volunteer time? Not if she is another Mel Martinez.

[elfman2]

I think something like this that potentially divides that socialist from the environmentalist is a good thing. If after 10 years China has a clean drilling record, it’ll be that much harder to stop drilling here in Florida. (I’m in Key Largo). If they have a big spill, it’s a spot on the American progressives through their friends.