FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Chuck Myron

Director of Media Relations

Environmental and Peace Education Center

Fort Myers, FL

P: (863) 273-1090

E: cmyron@onemain.com

Southwest Florida group supports return to drilling ban

Local development of clean, renewable fuels should replace oil dependence

FORT MYERS, Fla. (Oct. 12, 2010) — The lessons of the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico this year must not be forgotten so soon.

Community voices for alternative energy have made themselves clear, and a Southwest Florida environmental advocacy group is calling for a return to the moratorium on offshore drilling that was lifted Tuesday by the Obama administration.

The Environmental and Peace Education Center (EPEC), a Fort Myers-based nonprofit organization, points to the effects the spill had on wildlife, beaches, tourism, real estate, and the fishing and seafood industries, among other impacts, as ample justification for a permanent ban.

EPEC instead supports efforts geared toward alternative, renewable energies, especially on local level.

“We are called the Sunshine State for a reason — we have plenty of renewable natural resources here in Florida that we should be using,” EPEC president Jessica Mendes said. “This means jobs for our area. This can be sustainable employment.”

EPEC, along with another community group called Oil Coalition by the People, drew close to 1,000 people to Fort Myers Beach in June for Hands Across the Sand, a gathering to support an end to offshore drilling and the advancement of alternative energy.

“As I said at the event, if we can get people to come out just to stand in a line and say that they want renewable energy, we can get people together to talk to our legislators about this,” Mendes said.

EPEC is continuing to seek ideas about new and safer fuels. The organization will be a part of the Clean Energy and Sustainable Technologies Conference and Expo from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Oct. 29 at the Harborside Event Center on 1375 Monroe St. in downtown Fort Myers.

For more information or to share ideas, call Mendes at (239) 405-3022 or e-mail her at jemendes@eagle.fgcu.edu.

About EPEC

The Environmental and Peace Education Center, founded in 1982, is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization based in Fort Myers and dedicated to raising awareness of nonviolent conflict resolution and global sustainability across Southwest Florida.