| Resolution of
Last Stand |
| Opposing
Offshore Oil & Gas Exploration and Development
|
| in areas
affecting the Florida Keys |
Whereas the Eastern Gulf of Mexico and areas
south of Latitude 26 North have been under protection from
offshore oil and gas exploration for the past twenty-five
years through successive Congressional and Presidential
moratoria; and
Whereas, legislation is pending in Congress
that would lift this protection and open up the Eastern Gulf
of Mexico and areas offshore of the state of Florida to
offshore oil and gas exploration and development; and
Whereas, the Minerals Management Service Five
Year Plan for 2007---2012 would open up 21 lease sales in
the Eastern Gulf of Mexico; and
Whereas, the Gulf Loop Current would carry
routine and harmful drilling muds and any accidental spills
from these areas into the Lower Florida Keys where our
commercial shrimp and lobster breed, and then be carried by
the Gulfstream up the oceanside of the Florida Keys, home to
North America’s only living coral barrier reef, the 3rd
longest coral reef in the world and among the most
endangered; and
Whereas, the economy of the Florida Keys is
dependant upon tourism and commercial fishing and this
marine ecosystem enhances our quality of life through
boating, diving, fishing, and nature experiences and
provides habitat for many endangered species such as sea
turtles and conch; and
Whereas, a large reserve has been recently
discovered in another area of the Gulf of Mexico that
alleviates the pressure to open up fragile marine areas in
the Eastern gulf to oil and gas exploration and development;
and
Whereas, energy conservation and increased
fuel efficiency standards for automobiles would result in a
greater savings that all the oil and gas reserves in the
Eastern Gulf; and
Whereas, adoption of alternative fuels such
as ethanol and biodiesel would strengthen our country and
support our economy and reduce our dependence on foreign
oil; and
Whereas, Last Stand has consistently
supported protection from offshore oil for fragile marine
areas of the Florida Keys for the past twenty years;
Now therefore, the
Last Stand Board of Directors resolves as follows:
Consistent with our past position on this
issue, we continue to support the strongest possible
protection for Florida and other fragile marine environments
from the impacts of offshore oil and gas exploration and
development, including additional efforts to expand
exclusionary zones, extend Presidential and Congressional
moratoria, and defeat legislation to open up our coast to
offshore oil.
Our coral reefs, mangroves, seagrasses,
beaches, fisheries, endangered species, tourism and quality
of life all depend upon clean and healthy ocean waters.
Please do your part to protect them from the impacts of
drilling muds and spills, which can be carried by great
distances by the Gulf Loop Current onto Florida’s coasts.
Routine drilling muds release thousands of pounds of toxic
chemicals into the environment and harm fish, corals and
marine mammals. They place Florida at risk of a large or
catastrophic spill.
We encourage you to:
*Oppose any new offshore oil and gas leasing,
exploration, drilling activity and seismic inventories
affecting Florida’s coast.
* Permanently cancel the 90+ existing and
active leases, some as close as 11 miles from our coast.
Compensate the holders of those leases through rents due and
royalty forgiveness for other current drilling activity.
* Support new Congressional moratoria against
offshore oil drilling near Florida and other fragile coastal
areas.
* Encourage extension of the Presidential
Executive Order that bans leasing off America’s east and
west coasts and parts of Alaska from 2012 to 2020.
* Cancel any activity in Lease Sale 181 and
establish a 150 mile buffer zone against drilling on
Florida’s east coast. The Martinez/Nelson bill, otherwise
know as Senate Bill 2239 has the support of many. We
encourage you to work for the strongest possible protections
and larger exclusionary zones via this legislation. We
oppose Interior’s new 5 Year Plan for 2007—2012 that would
offer 21 lease sales in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico and we
oppose the Domenici bill, Senate Bill 2253.
* Encourage the adoption of renewal energy
sources such as solar, ethanol and biodiesel, and further
conservation of our energy use.
A copy of this resolution shall be sent to:
Honorable Senator Bill Nelson, 716 Hart
Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510
Honorable Senator Mel Martinez, 317 Hart
Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510
Honorable Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen,
2160 Rayburn Building, Washington, D.C. 20515
Governor Jeb Bush, The Capitol, Tallahassee,
Florida 32301
Renee Orr, 5 Year Program Manager, Minerals
Management Service (MS-4010), Room 3120, 381 Elden Street,
Herndon, Virginia 20170
Approved this sixth day of November, 2006.
