Offshore Oil Drilling Threatens Our Coasts with Oil Spills and Toxic Drilling Muds
The Trump administration has just announced that it would open up vast new stretches of federal waters for offshore oil and gas drilling off the Arctic, Pacific and Atlantic coasts.
The Interior Department's newly proposed five-year outer continental shelf plan – which would offer 47 areas off America’s coastline for lease by oil and gas companies from 2019 to 2024 – is the largest expansion of offshore oil and gas drilling in US history and puts our ocean resources, wildlife, and coastal communities at risk of large spills.
Earth Island Executive Director David Phillips, who also is Director of the International Marine Mammal Project, issued the following statement in response to the announcement:
“President Trump is beginning an all-out assault on marine ecosystems and all the whales, fish, and other wildlife that depend on them. It’s all part of his willingness to trash the environment and let the fossil fuel industry do whatever they want. To all those who have fought for decades to protect the precious environment of our outer continental shelf, it is time to stand up and stop this dangerous plan.”
For our recent coverage of this issue, see here and here.
Photo by Maersk Drilling, creative commons.