Florida will launch a $25 million ad campaign to lure tourists to the Sunshine State amid fears that its beaches will soon be slimed with oil from the Louisiana oil rig disaster. Gov. Crist received the money for the ads from BP, the company that owned the rig.
Meanwhile, Progress Florida, a statewide nonprofit that has long opposed offshore drilling, launched SpillBabySpill.com as a clearinghouse for real-time oil spill information. It also features “BP BFF of the Week,” to highlight public officials who supported the oil expansion agenda. The premiere BFF is U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio.
Oil is not the biggest public safety hazard right now, though, according to the director of the National Hurricane Center; the potential of a hurricane hitting Haiti is. As many as 1 million people are living in temporary housing there after the January earthquake, and a devastating storm could be catastrophic. Disruptions in Haiti often impact Florida’s hospitals and public safety agencies.
