This is something that has been troubling me for some time, and now with the oil rig mishap that happened off Fl west coast I have decided to speak up about it.

I just heard this morning on the radio that only 48% of Floridians are in favor of drilling off the coast now. Did this mishap really change your mind overnight? Oil drilling is still safe! This is an Isolated incident that could have happened anywhere on earth. It will only take the gas prices to go up again like they did 2 years ago and you will be in favor of drilling again.

Let me inform you of something. Oil drilling in THIS COUNTRY is safer and more restricted than anywhere else on earth. All you liberal eco- freaks out there that want to restrict oil drilling in the lower 48 and Alaska think you are doing the earth a favor? All you are really doing is killing the environment more. The consumption and need for oil isn't going away just because you bought a hybrid car. It is continually growing. By not allowing us to drill and refine oil here in the United States where it can be done cleanly and safely and under the most stringent rules there are for drilling and refining oil you are causing us to fund terrorist countries. We are buying oil from Hugo Chavez and Arabic countries that hate us. They are funding the war that we are fighting. Not to mention they are drilling for oil and causing and environmental disaster as they do it. By buying oil from these nut-jobs we are not only funding terrorist but we are causing more damage to the environment.

STOP getting in the way of our drilling for oil here Let us drill our own oil in our own country and do it cleanly and safely. Lets put the Terrorist oil companies out of business so they can not harm our environment any more. If we could drill here we would pay less and the impact on the earth would be far less than what it is now.

I have been to the gulf and seen first hand the mess they are making over there. Do any of you remember when they set fire to thier wells and let them burn and spew oil all over the place? They have no regulation and no EPA over there to protect the environment.

If you really care about the environment you would let us do it here, ourselves, and not only would you be doing the earth a favor but you would also be creating and saving JOBS right here in our own country.

Of course we need to exploit, solar, wind, and nuclear power as well. Along with new sources. But in the meantime we need to do what is right and drill right here cleanly and safely.

James Reed