This week, the state of Florida signalled plans to purchase 187,000 acres of farmland to be converted into reservoirs and marshes, to slake the Everglades' thirst. Sugar Corp., the nation's largest producer of cane sugar, would go out of business in a $1.75 billion deal to sell its nearly 300 square miles of land to Florida for Everglades restoration. The marshy sawgrass prairies are habitat for 14 species listed as under threat, including the Florida panther, the American crocodile and the wood stork.

Under the deal, announced at a news conference with Republican Gov. Charlie Crist and company representatives, the state would buy U.S. Sugar's holdings in the Everglades south of Lake Okeechobee, the virtual heart of the ecosystem.

The United States Federal Government has promised $10.5 billion over a 30-year period for restoration of the Everglades. So, althought the $1.75 billion deal seems like a lot, it's just part of the overall budget approved from Everglades restoration.

Charlie Crist may look like an eco-hero by coordinating this deal, but is there an insidious plan lurking? Crist has also recently backed John McCain's plan to drill for oil off the shore of Florida. So in order for this eco-gal to feel rest assured, more details, which are still being hammered out, need to be released to the public. Afterall, given the key players involved in the deal, why would they NOT consider drilling in the Everglades?

It is estimated that the Everglades may hold about 40 million barrels of oil - enough to power the U.S. at current rates of consumption for two days.

Back in September, 2007, Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson met with Florida Gov. Charlie Crist in Tallahassee this morning and said he wouldn’t rule out drilling for oil in the Everglades.

“Gosh, no one has told me there is any major reserves in the Everglades,” the former Tennessee senator said when asked about the issue. “Maybe that’s one of the things I have to learn while I’m down here.”

 

OK, so we got that out of the way. Both Crist and Thompson met last year, so please no feigned look of surprise when it's announced that, well..gee..there is this oil crisis and all, and we can drill right here in the Everglades.

So, the questions is - Did this current buy out Sugar Corp include the mineral and oil rights now? The surface can be owned by one individual and the subsurface can be owned by someone else. Oil companies can buy the mineral rights to oil and therefore own the oil. However, even in the United States, more often than not, the oil companies have to lease the mineral rights.
 
Many states currently run their own state run oil and natural gas operations. Would the state develop the Everglades into oil fields someday, or maybe sooner should offshore drilling look too difficult?