Letters to the Editor

Time to fire a Cannon

In listening to Rep. Dean Cannon's woefully tardy, highly evasive response to the oil drilling mess he has championed, I'm reminded of the scene in Billy Wilder's 1959 classic movie titled "Some Like It Hot."

In the lobby of the fictional Seminole Ritz Hotel in Florida, a Chicago gangster submits to a police frisking. When a revolver drops out of the hood's left pant leg, he exclaims, "It ain't loaded." Seconds later, the right pant leg reveals dozens of bullets that scatter all over the floor. It's hilarious on the screen, but decidedly less so in Florida politics.

I can almost hear Rep. Cannon's impassioned assertion that he used to oppose Florida coastal oil drilling, but changed his stance due to recent safety advances that would prevent oil spills. For the sake of analysis, let's give Rep. Cannon the benefit of the doubt on this and take him at his word.

Logically speaking, Rep. Cannon's oil drilling stance should have reverted back to his original position the minute he saw the catastrophic Deepwater Horizon oil spill drama unfold on CNN. Rather than admit the obvious, he stonewalled for days. Finally, press reports indicated that Rep. Cannon would revisit the oil drilling issue this summer after the oil spill cause had been determined. Shortly thereafter, the Observer quoted Rep. Dean Cannon saying "I don't see anything happening for the next two or three years."

Wrong answer.

It should have been intuitively obvious to Rep. Cannon that Florida's hurricane-prone waters posed an oil-drilling safety threat that couldn't be fixed. No oil rig could withstand a Hurricane Andrew. Period. But, the special interests didn't pay him to think that way.

—Will Graves

Founder, Friends of Florida's Coasts

Think about oil this Memorial Day

Memorial Day is the day when we honor the sacrifices of servicemen and women, and it also marks the beginning of summer, when many Americans take to the roads for travel and vacations. This Memorial Day, we should strive to understand the connection between national security and our over-reliance on oil for much of our transportation needs.

We are seeing one of the most devastating consequences of this oil addiction in the Gulf of Mexico as the BP disaster worsens every day.

If we remain dependent on oil, it leaves us open to spills that destroy our local economies and environment. Improving fuel economy standards for all vehicles, electrifying vehicles of all types, investing in rail for freight and commuting, creating livable communities where transit, walking and biking are important — these are all real and oil-free choices.

The BP Gulf oil leak only reinforces and makes realize how important change is now, and that we must make alternative energy options available and easy to access without delay. The future is another oil spill, and more loss of land and wildlife. We can't afford to wait!

Thank you.

—Mark Chenoweth

Kissimmee