Bush Scales Back Gulf Of Mexico Drilling Plan

"The Bush administration yesterday announced plans to open 1.5 million acres of the eastern Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas drilling, but backed away from an earlier proposal that would have allowed much more exploration closer to the coast of Florida."The plan was scaled back under pressure from Gov. Jeb Bush and others concerned that oil and gas drill would lead to "accidents and spills that could spoil their beaches and multibillion-dollar tourism industry."