State Rep. Dean Cannon of Winter Park says prohibiting drilling for oil or natural gas in Florida's Gulf of Mexico waters was the right decision decades ago, but safer rigs and increased needs have changed the picture. Cannon is pitching a plan to allow drilling.

But keep in mind that the Australian West Atlas rig, currently dumping 17,000 gallons of oil a day, constitutes a "safe rig." And what of Cannon's assertions of "increased needs?" First off, the Energy Information Administration several years ago under the Bush administration, reported that opening the Eastern Gulf to drilling would not have a positive impact on gas prices. Secondly, money gained from oil revenues would be spent mitigating the negative effects of drilling and filling the revenue gaps caused by lost tourism dollars. Thirdly, the fantasy of job creation would be checked by the reality of international drilling crews and the pre-existing oil workforce. Oh, and the trivial amount of oil to be extracted from Florida's waters would pale in comparison to how much oil America voraciously consumes, thus having no impact on our country's dependency on foreign oil. It's only a"win" situation for the oil industry.