Hours after President Obama announced this morning his proposal allow for drilling along the eastern Gulf of Mexico as part of his plan to open up a total of 167 million along the Atlantic coastline, one of the preiminent environmental groups in the country, and the state, the Sierra Club, is weighing in.
And they're not pleased.
In a press release issued this afternoon, new Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune (seen at right, and who has been on the job for just two weeks after replacing long time leader Carl Pope) said that the plan to expand drilling in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico would:
"..substantially increase the chance of oil spills damaging the Everglades, the Florida Keys, fragile coral reefs and Florida's beaches. It would also jeopardize the $62 billion coastal tourism industry that employs almost a million Floridians. Fortunately, the Administration can't take this action alone; congressional approval of new drilling in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico would be required under the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006.
"What we need is bold, decisive steps towards clean energy, like the new clean cars regulations announced this week—not more dirty, expensive offshore drilling.
"The oil industry already has access to drilling on millions of acres of America's public lands and water. We don't need to hand over our last protected pristine coastal areas just so oil companies can break more profit records.
"Drilling areas like the Arctic threatens marine life like whales and polar bears. Where there is offshore drilling, there is a constant danger of oil spills. One oil spill is all it takes to destroy a coastal tourism economy and the jobs that depend on it.
"Drilling our coasts will doing nothing to lower gas prices or create energy independence. It will only jeopardize beaches, marine life, and coastal tourist economies, all so the oil industry can make a short-term profit.
"President Obama has taken important steps to combat global warming pollution and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. Our nation's increasing investment in clean energy and efficiency measures make drilling in sensitive coastal areas even more unnecessary.
"There's no reason to drill our coasts. We can achieve real energy independence and economic vitality by investing in clean energy like wind and solar and efficiency. This kind of power creates good, lasting American jobs and positions our nation to become a global leader in the new clean energy economy."
This article appears in Mar 31 – Apr 6, 2010.