A Texas oil and gas industry advocacy organization has apparently been detailed by Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos to come up with recommendations for Florida’s energy policy. The group is allowing others to attend its energy meeting in Orlando on July 18-20 to discuss energy issues ranging from off-shore drilling to renewable energy.
Audubon of Florida is calling on advocates for renewable energy and for energy efficiency to attend the meetings and voice support for clean energy options.
Notwithstanding the Senate President’s questionable strategy of delegating to an oil and gas industry front group the job of collecting energy recommendations, if conservation advocates do not weigh in on these meetings, our views may not be considered. So we ask that you participate. Let us know how the meetings went on the Protect the WEB Facebook Page, in an email or below in the comments section. Even if you cannot attend, we want to know how you feel about Senate President Haridopolos' decision and Florida's energy future.
Audubon has sought every available opportunity to offer public testimony before committees of the Florida Senate, and we see no reason why our comments should now be filtered through the oil and gas lobby. But Senate President Haridopolos in a letter to the president of Houston based Consumer Energy Alliance asked the group to meet with other stakeholders and report to him by the end of the year. The oil and gas lobby did reach out to Audubon in an email with a vague invitation to a meeting at the Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel in Orlando.
Audubon and other clean energy advocates will still try to persuade Senate President Haridopolos and other legislators and candidates that drilling for oil off our beaches is a dead end strategy and that renewable energy and energy efficiency are the best options for Florida. You can help by attending one of these energy hearings.
Tell Senate President Haridopolos and the Texas oilmen organizing the hearings that you:
- Support renewable energy financed by a small earmark on rates.
- Support conservation through requirements for more efficient electricity and transportation.
- Oppose drilling for oil off Florida’s vulnerable coasts.
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The Rosen Creek Shingle is located at 9939 Universal Boulevard, Orlando, FL 32819. To contact the hotel, call 866-996-9939 or access its website here: http://www.rosenshinglecreek.com/.
All sessions are off the record and require an RSVP to attend. If you would like to participate, please e-mail Natalie Joubert at njoubert@consumerenergyalliance.org or call her at 202-778-2103 and indicate which session(s) you would like to attend. Light refreshments will be served.
