Michele Bachmann Supports Everglades Drilling

Transcript:

"The United States needs to be less dependent on foreign sources of energy and more dependent upon American resourcefulness. Whether that is in the Everglades, or whether that is in the eastern Gulf region, or whether that's in North Dakota, we need to go where the energy is," she said. "Of course it needs to be done responsibly. If we can't responsibly access energy in the Everglades then we shouldn't do it.

"From there, though, that doesn't mean that the two have to be mutually exclusive. We can protect the environment and do so responsibly, but we can also protect the environment and not kill jobs in America and not deny ourselves access to the energy resources that America's been so blessed with."

The reporter should ask Bachmann to explain how that oil wells could be build in the Everglades without affecting the water or ecosystem. Roads and shipping docks will have to be built to transport the oil. How could that be done without damaging the wetlands. The state of Florida bought land from U.S. Sugar to restore the wetlands. Bachmann's proposal runs counter to years of Florida environmental policy.

Update: Sen. Bill Nelson responds to Bachmann's Everglades position.

"We don't need to be drilling for oil and gas in the middle of the Everglades," he said. "There is a 150-year supply of natural gas on land in non-environmentally sensitive areas from Louisiana to New York. So to go in the middle of the Everglades and to spoil the river of grass just because somebody wants to, that's not a wise thing to do."