Join Audubon’s Center for Birds of Prey and Lake Nona between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday, September 11 at a free event to benefit wildlife and habitat threatened by the BP Deepwater Horizon Gulf oil spill.
Stop by the Lake Nona Info Center, at 9588 Narcoossee Road in Orlando, and meet visiting Raptors, including an American Bald Eagle, from Audubon’s Center for Birds of Prey in Maitland. This free event is for the entire family and will feature exhibits and activities demonstrating what Audubon is doing to help in this critical wildlife rescue effort. Attendees will also enjoy complimentary lemonade and cookies, and some great door prizes and giveaways.
Download your invitation or contact the Info Center for more information at 407-888-6500.
The Florida House and Senate convened a Special Session today, called by Governor Charlie Crist, to place an amendment on the November ballot that would enshrine Florida’s prohibition against nearshore oil drilling in the Florida Constitution.
While Florida has a drilling ban in statute, that law has narrowly escaped being overturned in the last two legislative sessions by legislators at the behest of the oil industry.
The decision before legislators today was whether they would allow the people to decide on a permanent oil drilling ban. If 60 percent of voters agreed this November, the prohibition would have become constitutional, removing the Legislature’s ability to overturn it.
Rather than consider the measure, the House decided it would rather not let the people vote. In a strategy described by some as “gavel and go,” the House convened and a majority voted to adjourn without taking up the constitutional amendment resolution. See how your representative voted here (a “yes” vote was a vote to adjourn the session without considering the drilling ban amendment. “No” votes wanted the issue to be heard.)
The Florida Senate convened shortly before the House adjourned, discussed the issue briefly and also voted to adjourn without considering the matter. Senators Paula Dockery (R-Lakeland), Mike Fasano (R-New Port Richey), and bill sponsor Alex Villalobos (R-Miami), dissented that the public deserved for them to vote on the constitutional amendment, even if it could not be placed on the ballot without House concurrence. Nevertheless, the Senate voted to adjourn without a vote on the drilling ban. See how your senator voted here (again, a “yes” vote was a vote to adjourn the session without considering the issue).
Hundreds of Floridians from around the state converged on the Capitol today to urge the Legislature to let the people vote and were essentially ignored by this swift decision. The House of Representatives’ behavior today was a sobering display of the petroleum industry’s influence in the political process at the expense of the people of Florida.
The Florida Legislature begins a special session at noon today to consider putting a constitutional amendment to ban oil drilling in state waters on the November ballot. Public support for such a measure is building and it is time to call on your state senators and representatives to support permanent protection for Florida’s beaches.
Read about the growing public support for a ban on oil drilling in state waters Here.
Tell your representatives to Let the People Decide: Amend Florida’s Constitution to Permanently Ban Drilling in Florida’s Waters.
Some legislators argue Florida already has a ban in general law, but this rule can be easily be overturned with legislation. For the last two years, in fact, a coalition of advocates for Florida’s coastal environment and economy have only narrowly staved off the attempts by the oil industry and certain legislators to open Florida’s nearshore waters to oil drilling.
The BP Deepwater Horizon oil disaster is a clear example of why we need a permanent ban on oil drilling in Florida’s jurisdictional waters. Click Here to Write Your Legislator Today. Click Here to Find Your State Legislator and Call Him or Her to Let the Voters Decide.
We can win this battle so our children don’t have to.
Florida Audubon and 15 of its leading Audubon chapters in Florida will bring the beach and birds threatened by the Gulf Oil Disaster to 15 Simon Shopping Malls in the state from 12, noon, to 5 p.m. , Saturday and Sunday, July 24 and 25. CBS Neighbors 4 Neighbors has also joined the collaboration to raise awareness about wildlife affected by the spill and will host a phonebank during the CBS4 News in Miami from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. on Friday, July 23, in Miami.
Florida Audubon is accepting contributions for Gifts for the Gulf from people who want to help wildlife threatened by the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Funds are placed in an account used just for oil spill response. To donate, click here.
To sign up for our Gulf Spill Response volunteer network, click here.
We were all thrilled with the news reports that the BP Deepwater Horizon well appears to be capped. Tar balls and sheen are washing up on Florida beaches, however, and the Gulf is still awash in oil. We need to focus on long-term clean up and a permanent ban on drilling in Florida’s state waters.
Governor Charlie Crist has called a special session of the Legislature to craft a permanent ban on oil drilling in state waters and proposed amending Florida’s constitution to make our state jurisdictional waters between three and 10 miles off limits to oil production.
Conservation groups are organizing a Hands Across the Capitol event at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday in Tallahassee. Hands Across the Capitol is an extension of Hands Across the Sand. Join us in Tallahassee and then meet with your legislators to urge them to give the people of Florida the power to protect our beaches, ecology and economy.
Some legislators argue Florida already has a ban in general law. Unfortunately, these rules can easily be overturned with legislation. In fact, for the last two years, a coalition of advocates for Florida’s coastal environment and economy have only narrowly staved off the attempts of the oil industry and certain legislators who would open Florida’s nearshore waters to oil drilling.
Now with the BP Deepwater Horizon oil disaster, the time has come to permanently ban oil drilling in Florida’s jurisdictional waters. And you can help make our beaches safer.
Come to Tallahassee Tuesday and SEND your letter today calling on your Florida representative and senator to put a permanent drilling ban on the ballot. Let’s make sure a Gulf oil disaster never happens again in Florida by permanently banning oil drilling in our state waters. We can win this fight so our children don’t have to.
If you cannot make it to Tallahassee you can still contact your legislator and urge them to vote to ban oil drilling.
Check out these resources if you can attend Hands Across the Capitol.
Find your state legislators’ info so you can schedule an appointment.
Want to register? Looking for a ride share? RSVP here so we can get you information on lobby training schedules and details for the big day.
Let the People Decide. Tell your Legislators to put the Oil Drilling Ban on the State Ballot
Governor Charlie Crist – responding to the horrors of the BP Gulf Oil Spill – has convened a special session of the Florida Legislature on July 20.
Your legislators need to hear from you today: Make the ban on oil drilling in Florida’s coastal waters permanent.
The oil on Florida’s beaches is a stark example of why oil drilling should never be allowed in Florida’s coastal waters. While state law limits drilling in Florida waters, the Legislature can undo the ban in a matter of days. At the request of the oil companies they almost did that last year.
To protect Florida’s beaches now and for our children and grandchildren we need to give the people a chance to vote on an amendment banning nearshore drilling on November’s ballot. Once the people of Florida place this ban in the Constitution, only the people of Florida—not legislators—can remove it.
Please call or write your legislators. Let the people decide to Protect Florida’s Beaches. Put the oil drilling ban on the November ballot.
Click here to write to your legislator today. And thank you for caring about Florida’s special places. We can win this fight so our children don’t have to.
Environmental and clean business groups will host two Gulf Oil Disaster community forums, one in St. Petersburg on Wednesday, July 14, and the other in Miami on Thursday, July 15. These are excellent opportunities to deepen your knowledge of the crisis and solutions.
St. Petersburg College will present the Impact of the Oil Crisis in the Gulf on Tampa Bay from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m., Wednesday, July 14 in the SPC-Seminole Campus Digitorium (UP 160). Download the invitation to the St. Petersburg forum here St Pete Oil Spill Forum Invitation.
In Miami, the Community Forum on the Gulf Oil Disaster: From Crisis to Solutions is scheduled for 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, July 15, at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway. Download the invitation to the Miami forum here Miami Oil Spill Community Forum Invitation.
Audubon of Florida welcomed Governor Charlie Crist’s call today for a special legislative session to consider a ban on oil drilling in Florida’s jurisdictional waters.
“By calling this special session, Governor Crist is listening to Floridians who really care deeply about protecting Florida’s beaches, wildlife, and its economy,” said Eric Draper, Audubon of Florida’s Executive Director. “The Gulf Oil Disaster and its harmful consequences are stark examples of why Florida’s leaders must protect our state by approving a ballot measure for a Constitutional ban on oil drilling in Florida jurisdictional waters, within up to approximately 10 miles of our coasts. We commend Governor Crist for calling this special session and we will encourage Florida’s legislators to vote to put the amendment on the ballot so that voters can choose real and lasting protections for Florida’s environment and economy.”
As oil washes up onto Florida’s Gulf coast beaches, threatened snowy plovers, Wilson’s plovers and other sensitive birds are threatened–not only by the oil but by clean up crews if they are not extremely careful.
Accompany Beach Clean up Crews on Panhandle Beaches
Audubon is pre-screening wildlife observers for oil spill clean up activities. This is important work. Cleanup activities pose significant threats to wildlife and habitats.
Official beach clean up crews responding to the oil spill will now be required to have a wildlife observer accompanying them during night work in the Panhandle, out of concern for impacts to beach wildlife like marine turtles, shorebirds and beach mice.
Observers will be given hazardous material training as well as training in a monitoring protocol, but will be required to have some background in biology and conservation, either through practical field experience in an academic or professional capacity, or through coastal field volunteer experiences such as Bird Stewards or Marine Turtle Patrol participants. Interested qualified individuals are being recruited for activities on sandy beaches from Escambia to Taylor counties. This will be ongoing, paid work. Click here to sign up for this opportunity.
Join Audubon’s Center for Birds of Prey and Lake Nona between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday, September 11 at a free event to benefit wildlife and habitat threatened by the BP Deepwater Horizon Gulf oil spill.
