Offshore drilling near Florida is bad for local businesses like me

Florida’s Gulf Coast boasts some of the most beautiful beaches in the country. That’s why millions of visitors from all over the world flock to here every year, making tourism and our economy the backbone of local prosperity and how we live.

My family has been involved in the vacation rental business at Gulfside Resort for over 35 years. In fact, one of our fortunes was named after me when I was a young child. It’s Sarah’s beach. We witnessed many challenges to our coastline and our economy. However, nothing poses a greater threat than offshore oil drilling. The risk of a catastrophic oil spill is simply too high – and that is a risk you will never take.

Floridians have consistently opposed the expansion of offshore drilling, and we have urged federal leaders to protect the coast. That’s why Kathy Caster, Vern Buchanan, Darren Soto and Gus Bilirakis see bipartisan cooperation with the introduction of the Florida Coastal Protection Act by US officials. This important bill would forever ban oil exploration, development and production off the Florida coast.

Beautiful beaches and healthy oceans are not only good for the environment. They are essential to my business. My living depends on the beauty of nature that attracts people here in the first place.

Sunday marked 15 years since the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, killing 11 workers and unleashing one of the worst environmental catastrophes in US history. Images of oily wildlife and devastated coastlines are burned into our collective memories.

The financial sacrifice was incredible. More than 25,000 jobs were lost, billions of tourism revenues were wiped out, and years of recovery was recovered. The lesson is clear: when they excavate, they spill – and we’re leaving the bill behind.

This is not a partisan issue. Polls show that two-thirds of voters cross the party’s boundaries and support a new offshore drilling ban. Approximately 400 municipalities and more than 2,300 local officials in the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf Coast are officially opposed to expanding offshore drilling.

You may wonder, “Is offshore drilling really still a threat in Florida?”

The answer is yes. Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2018 that bans drilling in state waters (up to nine miles offshore), but federal water beyond that is still at risk. Future presidents can reverse existing restrictions with pen strokes. The oil and gas industry has kept its desire to expand to undeveloped regions, including the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

That’s why we have to act now. Our coastal economy, our environment, and lifestyle are far too valuable to gamble. The Florida Coastal Protection Act will make what most Floridians already want permanent. This is a threatless future for offshore oil drilling in the future.

As a Florida coastal business owner, I am calling for the entire Florida Congressional delegation to support this bill. Protect our coasts – for our business, our communities and our generations.

Sarah Wilkerson Meconaghee is part of Gulfside Resort, a three-generation beach vacation business consisting of 20th century restored cottages at Indian Rocks Beach. This opinion article was distributed by the invading sea website (www.theinvadingsea.com). It publishes news and commentary on climate change and other environmental issues affecting Florida.