In all, I have been on three continents and many different tropical islands. Needless to say, I have seen some of the world's most famed beaches. However, through those travels not one of those beaches matched the incredible beauty that was found in the Florida Panhandle of my youth.
Over thousands of years, the quartz pebbles that are at the bottom of crystal clear shallow rivers, have been worn down by the waters and bleached by the hot Florida sun to create the most beautiful stretches of beaches in the world - right here in the United States. This is true from Perdido Key to Cape San Blas. The sand is so white the sun's reflection is blinding and gives way to emerald green and deep turquoise blue waters. This part of Florida went for years, and some would argue still is, largely undiscovered.
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As a child I remember the highest points I had climbed were the famed sand dunes with large magnolias jettisoning up, providing shade. So large and tall, the sand dunes were intimidating to a child; something of a beachcomber's version of a mountain range. Sandpipers would dance on the shoreline with the breaking waves, searching for their dinner in the sand, while fiddler crabs popped up to survey the immediate area for predators. Dolphins and manta rays jump out of the Gulf of Mexico, taking schools of fish by surprise. Sting rays and sea turtles swim along the shore, feeding as if they were light cloth floating in the air catching flies. All of this with the backdrop of mountainous sand dunes, few humans, and dense stretches of sea oats whispering their tall tails in the air.
Whether it is picking up scallops along the bay's floor in Port St. Joe with my extended family or walking down Navarre Beach during sunset while on high school spring break with childhood friends or fishing off Pensacola Beach with my uncle as a young child or swimming off Grayton Beach with my nieces or laying on a raft in the Santa Rosa Sound as an adult: All of this will be no more. This will never be experienced again by another generation. Ruined - forever.
I weep because of this. No matter where I live or where my travels have taken me, I still consider this stretch of the Florida Panhandle home. These beaches are me and I am them. A part of me - if not my entirety - will die alongside these beaches in the coming days and weeks.
This is happening, not because industry has polluted the rivers that in-turn dump into the Gulf: There isn't any major manufacturing in the area. This is happening, not because humans have trampled the beaches or over-populated them: There are numerous National Sea Shores, County Parks, State Parks, and set-asides. This is happening, not because major hurricanes have wiped the beaches completely: They have been rebuilt and major restoration of sand dunes are underway to combat the damage inflicted by the hurricanes of the last decade.
The threat is a direct result of our relying on outdated energy technology. Technology that jeopardizes the future viability of our communities in three key ways:
- Extracting oil from the Gulf of Mexico is not safe and is extremely dirty, as proven by this latest oil spill;
- Consumption of that oil in combustible engine vehicles, based on 100-year old technology, that sit idle in slow-moving traffic while we go nowhere;
- Lack of high-paying manufacturing jobs focused on solar and wind-producing energy that would put Floridians back to work and reduce our dependency on oil from sensitive environmental areas and foreign countries that hate our democracy.
We are the Sunshine State after all. Let's use the sun and the wind to innovate the way we create energy and put Floridian's back to work.
Today, China leads the world in solar manufacturing. Are we so lazy that we cannot seize upon the opportunities and challenges before us to demand more and expect more of our politicians and ourselves?
There is an entire Party of our two-party system that refuses to fully support green energy. Instead, the Republican Party defends dirty energy companies and refuses to come to an agreement with the Democrats on a sensible energy plan that would provide incentives to spur economic development and green-energy jobs. Next time you vote, remember this: Rather than support high-paying manufacturing, green-energy production - there is a swath of politicians who are promoting 100-year old technology.
This isn't a debate. This isn't an us-vs.-them argument. This is a way of life. This is a call to action. This is the preservation of our state. This is a call to move away from 100-year old technology. This is to create a better way of life and a better way of earning a living for Floridians.
Let's get behind a candidate who appreciates and understands the problems we face as a community, as a state, and as a nation. We can support a candidate who can bring a pragmatic, real-world solution to this issue and champion for families who are burdened by energy costs and lack of jobs. We can make sure voters know about a candidate who, as a veteran, sees responsible energy policy from a national security standpoint. Someone who will champion moving us beyond the old, tired arguments and position our state to lead the way in solar and wind.
This oil spill should have never happened. We deserve a Congressman who will make sure it never happens again. For that reason, I support Doug Tudor for Florida's Congressional District 12 and ask you to support him too. www.teamtudor.org. Please consider contributing what you can.