Senator Nelson fights to stop oil drilling off Florida coast

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson is heading through the Panhandle today, with stops in Tallahassee, Panama City and Pensacola, where he will disclose the latest developments in the renewed push by the oil industry to put drilling rigs within eyesight of the state’s beaches. Last week the US Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved the idea of oil drilling 10 miles from the Panhandle shores – something that Florida has opposed for decades. Senator Bill Nelson says he will fight the plan because of the damage drilling poses to Florida’s coastline and because of the effect oil and gas wells could have on military training grounds in the Gulf of Mexico which he says will pose a national security threat. Last week, Nelson vowed on the Senate floor to block the president’s main energy bill if it contains the oil drilling provision, saying it does not lead the U.S. to energy independence through the development of alternative fuels.