NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA: At Biofuel Summit, Bronson Says Oil Drilling Needed
Jul 30, 2009
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By KEITH LAING
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA
ORLANDO, Fla., July 30, 2009……….Drilling for old-fashioned oil in near shore Florida waters should be part of the nation’s energy diet, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Bronson said Thursday at a conference about increasing the use of newer fuel types.
After speaking at the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ fourth annual “Farm to Fuel” summit in Orlando, Bronson told the News Service of Florida that the state and the nation need to be energy self-sufficient and there would not be enough biofuels to sustain the state fully. Bronson said biofuel, which most experts agree is the most available clean energy type in Florida, could probably only could cover about 30 percent of the need.
With that in mind, Bronson, a champion of biofuel, said that he was also in favor of underwater offshore drilling, which he said was safer than above-ground oil rigs.
We need to be 100 percent energy sufficient in this country and the only way to do that is to do both, Bronson said in an interview after his speech. There is technology that says we can do it safely.
The pitch at the Farm to Fuel summit this week is mostly that biofuel will wean the countrys dependence on foreign oil. But Bronson said drilling off the Gulf Coast, which surfaced during the most recent Florida legislative session and is also being debated in Congress, would help Florida do that. And including drilling in an all of the above energy policy would also help the state control gas prices, he added.
Facts are facts, Bronson said. The high cost of fuel is whats got agriculture and all types of industries in trouble now. Every single phase of agriculture is fuel-based, whether its planting the seed, picking the product or taking it to the marketplace. All of those costs have gone up tremendously. Theyre almost three or four times as expensive as they were 10 years ago.
Though a biofuel summit may seem like an odd backdrop for discussing looking for oil off the Florida coastline, Bronson said that his support for drilling was in completely in line with the reason his department starting hosting the conference four years ago: to secure the states energy future.
At every single one of these, business deals have been cut, he said. Its happening. Florida is going to be a leader in the nation (in renewable energy from farms) when its all said and done. Its either do it now or pay a heck of a lot for it later.
But a Democratic candidate to replace Bronson next year when hes term-limited said Bronson’s position was a betrayal of those who are seeking more use of biofuels as an environmentally friendlier alternative to oil. Eric Draper, who is also deputy director of Audubon Florida, said safe drilling was an oxymoron.
Theres no such thing as safe underwater oil drilling, Draper told the News Service of Florida in a separate interview at the Farm to Fuel summit. The so-called safe-technologies have not been tested in Florida waters and they certainly have not been tested in Florida hurricanes.
Drapers indignation at Bronsons decision to come out in favor of drilling appeared to be partly fueled by his decision to use the Farm to Fuel summit to make it public.
I think Charlie Bronson is betraying the people who came here this week and paid $350 (to register for the convention) to promote biofuel, Draper said. Biofuels compete for market share with cheap oil. As long as we keep dependent on cheap oil, were not going to develop the biofuel market.
This spring, the environmental community appeared ready to accept concessions such as including nuclear technology the proposed renewable energy standard for power companies, which it had fought for months, in the hopes of getting a bill passed last session. But the drilling proposal, which emerged late in the legislative session, was a non-starter when the House proposed it. And it is still is despite Bronsons new backing, Draper said.
Im stunned he would even consider it, Draper said, adding that the environmental community had always thought it had an ally in Bronson. How can be an advocate for renewable energy and at the same time be an advocate for fossil fuels? Thats a contradictory position.
Bronsons support for more oil drilling in addition to greater investment in biofuel technology found a more receptive audience in Gov. Charlie Crist, who is nationally regarded as one of most sensitive Republican leaders to climate and energy issues.
My feeling has always been that if it is far enough, clean enough and safe enough, we have to be open-minded about it, Crist told reporters after his own speech to the Farm to Fuel summit. Were so dependent on foreign oil that it is compromising our security. If we can do it safely where Florida can benefit, I think its something we need to look at.
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7/30/09
Detailed context on Florida energy issues is available on the NSF Energy Backgrounder at http://www.newsserviceflorida.com/energy/energy.htm
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