Actor Morgan Freeman has come out in support of an initiative by citizens of Belize to oppose offshore oil drilling in the Belize Barrier Reef which is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The government of Belize Prime Minister Dean Barrow has so far declined to impose a ban on offshore drilling in the wake of the oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Belize derives the majority of its foreign exchange earnings from eco friendly tourism on the Belize Barrier Reef, the largest in the western hemisphere, and a considerable source of marine products such as lobster, shrimp and fish which is exported to the U.S.A. by Belize fishing cooperatives. Citizens of Belize and environmental groups have come together to call on the Belize  government to ban offshore drilling. [Read more...]