NO OIL HERE!
Onshore Offshore is published and distributed on the West Coast of Florida and in the Keys. Those of us living on the West Coast are fortunate to still have clean beaches and great fishing. Everybody has their opinion on the subject of the spill, ranging from “it’s the end of the world as we know it” to “Don’t worry it won’t effect us at all”. Now, don’t get me wrong, I know the spill is a huge environmental disaster for parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida panhandle. I am very sorry for everyone being hurt by the spill, both economically and physically.
I truly hate that this had to happen to anybody anywhere, but at least for now, the story that we need to get out there is that “THE WEST COAST OF FLORIDA IS FINE, OUR BEACHES ARE BEAUTIFUL, OUR FISHING IS GREAT AND BASED ON MOST OF THE INFORMATION THAT I CAN FIND, THAT IS NOT LIKELY TO CHANGE.”
I spent the morning a week or so ago at St. Pete Beach where Governor Crist was meeting with locals to discuss the problem of the spill, and it became clear to me that for us on the West Coast, the spill is largely a problem of perception. This problem is reinforced when I talk to friends around the country who think all of Florida is covered with oil. Tourism is already down over 20% in Pinellas County and we are more than two hundred miles from any actual oil.
I think the media is largely responsible for this problem. I know that they are trying to report what people want to know, and that they perceive that nasty looking oil washing up on beaches and poor suffering animals covered with oil makes a more compelling story than telling where the oil isn’t. Unfortunately, the media is doing as much economic damage as the oil itself, by letting the public get the impression that all of Florida is covered with oil. I think all of us from the West Coast of Florida need to stand up and let people know that we are fine. The best way we can do this is to start an email campaign. Lets all send an email to everyone in our address book letting them know that things here are fine. I’ll even make it simple by providing the words for you. “The unfortunate BP oil spill is certainly an environmental disaster of huge magnitude, but it has not reached Florida’s West Coast and it appears unlikely that it ever will. Prevailing currents and winds are likely to carry the spill away from our area without affecting us. If you were planning a vacation to Florida’s West Coast this summer you need not worry that oil might ruin your vacation. If you don’t have plans to visit Florida’s West Coast soon, perhaps you should consider it. Prices are low, the beaches are beautiful and the fishing is great.
While the Florida Panhandle is receiving some oil, the West Coast from Homosassa to Naples is extremely unlikely to see any oil.” We need to get this word out so that the tourist related businesses in our area do not suffer irreparable damage, just when the improving economy should be beginning to expand their businesses. It is also time for everyone to stop fighting over who is to blame and to start working together to solve the problem and to insure that it never happens again. After the leak is stopped and the spill is contained, there will be plenty of time to blame everyone involved. Undoubtedly there will be years of government hearings and millions more wasted dodging and placing blame. Surely our governmental officials will step up to take responsibility for the problem, but not the blame. You may ask what the difference is? People who are to blame loose their jobs, people who are responsible do not.
I am pleased to see the inventiveness of many of our country’s entrepreneurs in developing many technologies for controlling and cleaning up the oil from the spill. It is really a shame that equipment like the skimmers developed by a company owned by Kevin Costner have only recently been put to work. It’s too bad that the oil companies did not have a bunch of these on standby ready to address such a problem.
I really don’t understand why no other oil companies have come to BP’s aid. I am confident that it was largely chance that caused BP to be the first to face this type of problem, it could probably have happened to nearly any oil producer. The fallout from this incident is going to cause problems for the entire industry for decades to come, it seems like they would all want to be a part of the solution. It looks very shortsighted for them to stand back and say that its BP’s problem, when ultimately it is going to create problems for everybody.
Don’t get me wrong, we should stand ready for the worst and be prepared to do whatever may be necessary to protect against the oil and to clean it up, should it ever get here. We should also do whatever we can to help those unfortunate enough to live in areas where oil is coming ashore, but we also must serve as ambassadors for Florida’s West Coast to combat the mistaken impression that we are covered with oil.
Onshore Offshore is published and distributed on the West Coast of Florida and in the Keys. Those of us living on the West Coast are fortunate to still have clean beaches and great fishing. Everybody has their opinion on the subject of the spill, ranging from “it’s the end of the world as we know it” to “Don’t worry it won’t effect us at all”. Now, don’t get me wrong, I know the spill is a huge environmental disaster for parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida panhandle. I am very sorry for everyone being hurt by the spill, both economically and physically.
I truly hate that this had to happen to anybody anywhere, but at least for now, the story that we need to get out there is that “THE WEST COAST OF FLORIDA IS FINE, OUR BEACHES ARE BEAUTIFUL, OUR FISHING IS GREAT AND BASED ON MOST OF THE INFORMATION THAT I CAN FIND, THAT IS NOT LIKELY TO CHANGE.”
I spent the morning a week or so ago at St. Pete Beach where Governor Crist was meeting with locals to discuss the problem of the spill, and it became clear to me that for us on the West Coast, the spill is largely a problem of perception. This problem is reinforced when I talk to friends around the country who think all of Florida is covered with oil. Tourism is already down over 20% in Pinellas County and we are more than two hundred miles from any actual oil.
I think the media is largely responsible for this problem. I know that they are trying to report what people want to know, and that they perceive that nasty looking oil washing up on beaches and poor suffering animals covered with oil makes a more compelling story than telling where the oil isn’t. Unfortunately, the media is doing as much economic damage as the oil itself, by letting the public get the impression that all of Florida is covered with oil. I think all of us from the West Coast of Florida need to stand up and let people know that we are fine. The best way we can do this is to start an email campaign. Lets all send an email to everyone in our address book letting them know that things here are fine. I’ll even make it simple by providing the words for you. “The unfortunate BP oil spill is certainly an environmental disaster of huge magnitude, but it has not reached Florida’s West Coast and it appears unlikely that it ever will. Prevailing currents and winds are likely to carry the spill away from our area without affecting us. If you were planning a vacation to Florida’s West Coast this summer you need not worry that oil might ruin your vacation. If you don’t have plans to visit Florida’s West Coast soon, perhaps you should consider it. Prices are low, the beaches are beautiful and the fishing is great.
While the Florida Panhandle is receiving some oil, the West Coast from Homosassa to Naples is extremely unlikely to see any oil.” We need to get this word out so that the tourist related businesses in our area do not suffer irreparable damage, just when the improving economy should be beginning to expand their businesses. It is also time for everyone to stop fighting over who is to blame and to start working together to solve the problem and to insure that it never happens again. After the leak is stopped and the spill is contained, there will be plenty of time to blame everyone involved. Undoubtedly there will be years of government hearings and millions more wasted dodging and placing blame. Surely our governmental officials will step up to take responsibility for the problem, but not the blame. You may ask what the difference is? People who are to blame loose their jobs, people who are responsible do not.
I am pleased to see the inventiveness of many of our country’s entrepreneurs in developing many technologies for controlling and cleaning up the oil from the spill. It is really a shame that equipment like the skimmers developed by a company owned by Kevin Costner have only recently been put to work. It’s too bad that the oil companies did not have a bunch of these on standby ready to address such a problem.I really don’t understand why no other oil companies have come to BP’s aid. I am confident that it was largely chance that caused BP to be the first to face this type of problem, it could probably have happened to nearly any oil producer. The fallout from this incident is going to cause problems for the entire industry for decades to come, it seems like they would all want to be a part of the solution. It looks very shortsighted for them to stand back and say that its BP’s problem, when ultimately it is going to create problems for everybody.
Don’t get me wrong, we should stand ready for the worst and be prepared to do whatever may be necessary to protect against the oil and to clean it up, should it ever get here. We should also do whatever we can to help those unfortunate enough to live in areas where oil is coming ashore, but we also must serve as ambassadors for Florida’s West Coast to combat the mistaken impression that we are covered with oil.
