Doug Stemke wrote:

> Hello All.
>
>     I'm sure all of us in the US are aware of the debate going on in
> Congress over opening up offshore drilling.  I think this is of issue to our
> members so I wanted to raise, at least, my concern here.  I used to live in
> Texas (late 70s-80s) and have seen the results of oil spills from Texas or
> Mexican oil rigs on Texas beaches. I have seen first-hand the clumps of tar
> on the beaches and the resulting impact on invertebrates (I probably still
> have some of those blackened shells). I don't believe there have been any
> major spills over the last 20 years, but I for one am certainly concerned
> about the future impact such an incident would have on marine life off the
> Florida coast.
>     Much of the debate is clearly more political than a mechanism to lower
> gas prices as it would be years before oil coming from those platforms would
> impact pump prices.  I think our community is uniquely positioned in that we
> have members who have both a collective interest, memory, and the knowledge
> base to influence the debate going on in congress.  I would urge our members
> to contact your members of congress to voice your concerns over what the
> impact of lifting the drilling ban has on our mollusk fauna.
>
> For your consideration.
>
> Doug


Here in SE Florida, we dump 500 million gallons of minimally treated
sewage just offshore EVERY DAY. Very few folks care.

The gastropod population has plummeted around the affected reefs (though
the bivalves seem to be holding their own). Very few folks care.

Most of the drilling proposals are for natural gas, not oil, and there
are trillions of cubic feet out there. It could be on the market in a
few years.

Some of the best diving (and collecting) in the Gulf is on the oil rigs.

How about less sewage and more domestic energy production.

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