My Dear friends,

On a very personal note, I must write a few words on The Gulf Oil spill. As you know I live on The Gulf Coast of SW Florida by the beach. Prior to living here I lived for over a decade in Key West, FL which you would know if you have read my book. Prior to my life in Florida I grew up in Maryland spending summers at Ocean City and fishing and crabbing as a kid in The Chesapeake Bay. My whole life has been lived by the sea. I have been scuba diving off The Dry Tortugas off of Key West, with wild Dolphin playing around me, and I have seen giant bill fish, whales, loggerhead turtles while fishing and sailing off the keys. I have had Dolphin play in the wake of our boat and just a few feet off the beach that came so close I could almost reach out and touch them. I cannot express to you in words how utterly devastating and sad it is for me to watch this disaster unfold. Two weeks after the explosion of the well in April I began to have dreams about what was happening to sea life, the eco-systems and waters in the Gulf. I woke up at 2am in tears from what I saw beneath the surface.

I am very concerned as I see a great threat to human life as well. I see diseases, health problems in human life on the horizon in some of these coastal areas. I do not want to alarm anyone, but this is very serious and about much much more than oil on beaches and dead birds..as if that were not bad enough. The toxic affects of the spill and chemical dispursents will last LONG after the oil is no longer visible. The Oil will raise the Gulf water temps and affect our weather and possibly makes summer storms much worse. The toxic waters will eventually seep into fresh water drinking supplies and may even affect our power plants. Yes, our power plants! Nuclear and electric power plants need fresh water to run. De-salination plants take the salt out of sea water to provide fresh water and drinking water for much of FL, they cannot run with contaminated sea water. There are enormous amounts of very toxic gases also being released in to our air from this well. I do not feel it will be stopped in August either and will likely gush on to Sept, October...maybe longer. I'm not certain, but I do feel it will go on past August.

I strongly urge everyone to reconsider your postion on energy consumption in our country and specifically off shore drilling. We ALL need fresh water to survive. We are poisoning our air, water and food chain. Even if you live no where near the Gulf this will eventually affect you. Obama had just approved only a few months before the spill, to expand deep water off shore drilling off the coast of Florida, Maryland and Virginia and of course we are already drilling off Alaska. What I am trying to say is that we will soon be drilling off all coasts! These spills happen all over the world often, this is only unusual in its scope of destruction.

There are many options coming on to the market for fully electric and hybrid cars, SUVs and trucks. There is up to a $7,500 Federal tax credit for purchasing these cars. You may save enough money in fuel to cover the car payment. It is projected the world will run out of oil in 50 years, I feel it is more like 25. It is ineveitable that we WILL switch to more efficient and renewable energy, so why not be ahead of the curve. Save money on gas! Protect the oceans and beaches for your children and grandhildren. Please take a stand and write your Representatives...there is no more room for ambiguity and apathy..NOW IS THE TIME. Please, my heart breaks over the massive destruction of life I see happening. For me, it is nearly unbearable. Sea life, animal life, human life and livelihoods are being destroyed with no end in site for what? The price for a gallon of gas....how sad.

Please help turn this tradgedy into a cause for good by doing anything you can to get invloved and take action in whatever small way you can...even if that is only to send us and The Gulf your love and prayers.
with love and blessings,
Denise Lescano