I had a similair voew toward Greenpeace at one time.
I mean who's not for saving the ocean?
But lets get real...A few drilling rigs so far of the California coast that you couldn't see them from land would not hurt anybody...
the occasional spill would be costly...But a state or federal sinking fund could be set-up (dunded solely by a tax on the oil recovered from the reserve) to pay for that unfortunate periodic occurance.
Ditto Florida.
Give me a break: Florida is about as far removed from "pristine wilderness" as you can get.