Sen. Mel Martinez (R-FL) must oppose oil drilling in America’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) if he wants to protect Florida’s beaches, a television message unveiled recently argues.

“Sen. Martinez, listen to what the oil companies and the drill-everywhere politicians are saying,” said Ann Vanek Dasovich, board member of the Florida Wildlife Federation, one of the message’s sponsors. “Their goal is to drill in offshore areas near Florida, and they see the Arctic as a first step.”

The Arctic issue is expected to be decided in the coming days in the U.S. Senate, and the vote will likely be close. Both Martinez and Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) say they oppose offshore drilling near Florida. However, only Sen. Nelson has committed to opposing Arctic drilling. Sen. Martinez says he is giving the issue “careful consideration but remains undecided.”

The TV message, sponsored by a coalition of Florida-based and national conservation groups, uses a series of falling dominoes to illustrate the link between Alaska’s coasts and Florida’s.

“The oil industry and its political backers subscribe to the domino theory of drilling,” said Jerry Karnas, regional outreach coordinator for the National Wildlife Federation, another of the message’s sponsors. “If they can knock down the barriers that keep them out of one environmentally sensitive place, the Arctic Refuge, they can knock down the barriers that keep them out of another. That’s dangerous for Florida.”

The 30-second TV message will run for one week on broadcast and cable outlets in Orlando and Tallahassee. It will air on a wide array of programs, including local and national newscasts and entertainment shows.

Offshore oil and gas drilling, which subjects nearby coastlines to the constant threat of a leak or spill, is currently banned near the Florida coast by a drilling moratorium. That moratorium is set to expire in 2007, however, and there are growing indications that the energy industry views the Arctic Refuge as a test case for whether Congress will ignore the American public and allow drilling in other protected places, including offshore areas near Florida’s coasts.

FS