American Cubans cry foul

Capitol Hill Cubans find this very odd--the duplicity of a prominent environment organization which claims to work with business and governments to promote a healthier globe. Coziness with Castro doesn't sound very business-friendly to me, and I remember his promises from the 1950s! Interesting web site.

"The Environmental Defense Fund ("EDF") is an advocacy organization that vehemently opposes oil drilling, whether in mainland areas such as Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, or off-shore in the Gulf of Mexico and other U.S. coastal zones.

Therefore, it was shocking to read the following press release:

Environmental Defense Fund will send a team of experts to Havana, Cuba, on Sunday to discuss ways to eliminate overfishing, protect coral reefs, conserve coastal areas, and tap potential ocean energy - a signal that greater environmental cooperation may be on the horizon.
"...and tap potential ocean energy"?

Their website further elaborates:

Environmental Defense Fund has been in Cuba since 2000, working with our Cuban partners on scientific research and strategies for protecting coastal and marine resources. Our experts are working with Cuban scientists on research to ensure that if Cuba taps offshore oil and gas reserves, it is done right — in an environmentally sustainable way.

"...if Cuba taps oil and gas reserves"?

In other words, the same organization that absolutely opposes offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, or off any U.S. coast, is now looking to work with the Castro regime in order to ensure that they drill "in an environmentally sustainable way."

It's fascinating how the EDF is willing to provide such leeway to the Castro regime, whose environmental record includes grazing half of the island's eco-system for overambitious sugar cane harvests and polluting Havana's skyline with sulfuric acids, while being absolutist in their opposition to drilling in the U.S."

Also read at their site what happens when bloggers displease a totalitarian, statist government.