(Angus Reid Global Scan) – Many adults in the Sunshine State would have no problem with off-shore drilling, according to a poll by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. 51 per cent of respondents would allow oil and natural gas exploration in large sections of the Eastern Gulf of Mexico 100 miles from the Florida coast.
(Angus Reid Global Scan) – Many adults in the Sunshine State would have no problem with off-shore drilling, according to a poll by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. 51 per cent of respondents would allow oil and natural gas exploration in large sections of the Eastern Gulf of Mexico 100 miles from the Florida coast.
In February, Republican New Mexico senator Pete Domenici and Democratic New Mexico senator Jeff Bingaman—both members of the Senate Energy Committee—proposed a bill that would open 3 million acres off the Florida coast for oil exploration. A federal moratorium on all new off-shore drilling—established in 1981—will expire in 2012.
Florida’s two representatives to the United States Senate—Democrat Bill Nelson and Republican Mel Martinez—have introduced legislation to effectively enact a permanent “no drilling” buffer enveloping the entire Florida coast.
On May 26, Dirk Kempthorne was confirmed as the new federal interior secretary by the Senate. Nelson expressed his disappointment with the decision, saying, “As part of my promise to Florida I have said I could not support an interior secretary who would advance this administration’s willingness to acquiesce to the oil lobby and its ever increasing desire for greater profits.”
Polling Data
The federal government is considering a proposal to allow oil and natural gas drilling in large sections of the Eastern Gulf of Mexico 100 miles from the Florida coast that are currently off limits. Do you support or oppose this proposal?
Support | 51% |
Oppose | 42% |
Not sure | 7% |
Source: Quinnipiac University Polling Institute
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,086 registered Florida voters, conducted from May 15 to May 22, 2006. Margin of error is 3 per cent.
