Opinion
Letters to the editor, Dec. 12
TBO.com
Published: December 12, 2012
Want our rightsPublished: December 12, 2012
Bill Cotterell's Dec. 5 op-ed page commentary "Don't secede; Give Canada a try" is missing some key facts. The secession movement is not about gay marriage or abortion. The movement is about having a president who is hellbent on destroying our Constitution and Bill of Rights.
The media has given these issues no coverage, but the Internet has allowed the information to leak out, hence Obama trying everything he can to get an Internet kill switch set up. He hates free speech with a passion.
Obama will not stop until the Constitution and Bill of Rights are worthless. When the states and the people have no rights, a petition to secede is the way to get the attention of the White House. We want our Bill of Rights and constitutional rights back.
Mary Nog
Port Richey
Good news
Regarding "OK, but …" — the Sarasota Herald Tribune editorial published Dec. 1 on your op-ed page — the good news is that industry and government are already meeting the editorial's three recommendations for moving forward with hydraulic fracturing, which is unlocking the potential of America's unconventional oil and natural gas.
Hydraulic fracturing has been safely employed for more than 65 years. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Secretary Lisa Jackson testified before Congress that there have been no cases of water contamination attributable to hydraulic fracturing during that time. The industry has worked closely with regulators and geologists in each state in which hydraulic fracturing is used to ensure appropriate standards are established for groundwater and environmental protection. This includes sharing information on hydraulic fluid compounds with regulators and the public.
Even better, IHS Global estimates that unconventional oil and gas production will support 1.7 million jobs this year, growing to 2.5 million in 2015 and 3.5 million in 2035.
We should step on the gas, so to speak, and make unconventional oil and natural gas a prominent part of the U.S. energy portfolio.
David Mica
Tallahassee
The writer is executive director of the Florida
Petroleum Council, an oil and gas industry trade group.