Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann said she would consider oil and natural gas drilling in the Everglades if it can be done without harming the environment.

Speaking at a rally on Sunday in Sarasota, Florida, Mrs Bachmann said the United States needs to tap into all of its energy resources no matter where they exist if it can be done responsibly.

She said: 'The United States needs to be less dependent on foreign sources of energy and more dependent upon American resourcefulness.

Whether that is in the Everglades, or whether that is in the eastern Gulf region, or whether that's in North Dakota, we need to go where the energy is.