This summer, Florida PIRG's Save Our Shores Campaign will be launching a massive grassroots campaign across the state to re-unite the Florida Congressional Delegation in opposition to drilling.

How You Can Help
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Brief Summary
The oil lobby would like us to believe that after Katrina and Rita, we can drill our way out of our nation's energy problems. We're not buying it. Opening our shores to drilling would only put our beaches and coastal waters at great risk for a small, short-term supply of oil and gas. Routine drilling operations dump thousands of pounds of toxic chemicals into the marine environment and a catastrophic spill— one that could spoil the ecology and economic value of Florida beaches for generations—is a real possibility. We can do better.

For example, if our cars and trucks got an average of a couple more miles per gallon, we’d save more oil than exists off the entire coast of Florida. Yet federal gas mileage standards haven’t significantly changed in 20 years. Instead of allowing oil companies to drill off our coast, our governor and congressional delegation should be leading the fight in Washington and in Tallahassee for better gas mileage and clean energy.

Click here to view our Save Our Shores fact sheet and learn more about this critically important campaign.

Click here to sign up as a Florida PIRG Email Activist and receive action alerts on this and other important public interest initiatives.

Resources

News Releases

• U.S. House Shreds Florida Drilling Protections 6/29/06
• Florida’s Coastal Protection Reaffirmed By Congress 5/19/06
• U.S. House Committee Votes to Eliminate Florida’s 22 Year Moratorium Against Offshore Drilling 5/10/06
• Legislators, Citizens, Business And Environmental Leaders Speak Out Against Proposal To Drill Florida’s Coasts At Public Hearing 4/6/06
• Legislation Would Protect Florida’s Coastline Far into the Future 2/1/06
• Opening of Florida’s Coast to Offshore Drilling Removed from Budget Bill 11/10/05
• Resources Committee Votes To Open Florida’s Coast To Offshore Drilling 10/28/05
• Science Is Clear: Oceans Are In Trouble, Must Act Now 4/20/04
• Senate Rejects Disastrous Energy Bill 11/21/03
• "Oil Spill" Tour Highlights Threats To Florida's Beaches From Off-Shore Drilling 10/16/03
• U.S. Senate Defeats Effort to Protect Florida's Coast 6/12/03
• Victory for Florida's Coast: U.S. House Strikes Offshore Drilling Language From Energy Bill 4/11/03
• U.S. Senate Energy Bill Threatens Florida's Coast: Bill Would Promote Offshore Drilling In Currently Protected Waters 4/2/03
• Statement of Florida PIRG Director Mark Ferrulo On Today's White House Announcement On Drilling Off Florida's Coast 5/30/02
• Statement of Mark Ferrulo, Campaign Director of Florida PIRG, on Lease Sale 181 7/2/01

Selected News Items
• Pensacola News Journal Offshore fight not over 5/20/06
• Bradenton Herald Hurricanes wreak environmental disaster, raising concerns of oil's future 12/21/05
• St. Petersburg Times Gulf Rigs Could Tar Both Coasts 11/14/05
• Miami Herald Gulf drilling dead -- for now 11/11/05
• St. Petersburg Times Drilling divides House GOP 11/11/05
• Los Angeles Times Article Florida Drilling Plan Alters Political Landscape 10/11/05
• St. Petersburg Times Editorial The Bushes' oil slick 4/27/04
• Pensacola News Journal Offshore drilling squabble resurfaces 9/25/03
• St. Petersburg Times Senate supports check of gas, oil 06/13/03
• Houston Chronicle 'Everybody will be watching' Companies want to start drilling in sensitive area 1/29/03
• New Orleans Times-Picayune Drilling will steer clear of Florida, MMS official says 8/23/02
• Washington Post Deals to Block Drilling in Everglades, Gulf 5/30/02
• Orlando Sentinel Florida Drilling Battles Not Over 4/10/02
• USA Today Oil-drilling push hits choppy sea 3/19/02
• Washington Post Oil Executives Lobbied on Drilling: Two Went to Cheney Task Force to Push for Gulf of Mexico Sale 2/27/02
• Business Week Magazine Florida Draws a Line in the Sand: The feds want offshore drilling--but opposition is fierce 1/14/02
• Newhouse News Service Studies Indicate Gulf Oil and Gas Rigs Are Islands of Legal Contamination 1/2/02
• St. Petersburg Times Is this in Florida's future? 8/12/01
• Florida Trend Magazine A Drop in the Bucket: The Bushes compromised on the Lease Sale 181 issue. What to do about Chevron and the Destin Dome may be a lot trickier. 7/31/01
• LA Times: Many Floridians Want Offshore Drilling Sunk 7/20/01
• NPR Morning Edition (RealAudio file) 5/21/01

Testimony & Correspondence
• Letter to Interior Secretary Gale Norton from Florida Congressional Delegation on Administrative Boundaries Rule (PDF) 1/23/06
• Letter to Senators in support of the Graham Amendment to strike pro-drilling language from the energy bill 5/9/03
• Letter from Gov. Bush and Florida's Congressional Delegation to leaders of Congress 4/9/03
• Environmental Coalition Comments On Five Year Leasing Plan 2/1/01

Maps

To get more information on the active leases that remain off the coast of Florida in the Eastern Gulf, click here.

Click on a map above for a larger version of the map. Or click here to see all three maps enlarged on one page.

Reports
• Making Sense of America's Oil Needs: A Sustainable, State-Based Response to Dwindling Oil Supplies 8/05
• Al.com Special Report: "Mercury Taints Seafood" (A new browser window will open.)
• Chevron, An Almost Unbelievable Pattern of Pollution 9/99
• Don't Rig Florida's Future: The Case Against Offshore Drilling Off Florida's Gulf Coast 6/93

Fact Sheets
• Save Our Shores Campaign Fact Sheet
• Environmental Impacts of Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration Activities
• Save Our Shores Campaign Fact Sheet (older)
• History of the Save Our Shores Campaign (Partially Complete)