Just two years after the devastating accident that killed eleven people and thousands of dolphins, turtles and seabirds, the Obama administration has opened up yet more areas of the Gulf of Mexico to drilling.
Opening the area up for yet another devastating accident is bad news. Oil accidents occur with frightening regularity, no matter how "safe" a company claims their practices to be. Even in the unlikely event that no accidents happen, drilling inevitably causes noise and water pollution, impacting marine wildlife and the area’s fishing industry.
To avoid history repeating itself, countries need to learn from their mistakes. There is no long-term future in oil, just some very serious problems waiting to happen.
The government needs to focus on reducing America's dependence on oil rather than wrecking what is left of our environment.
We the undersigned ask that you retract the decision to open up new areas of the Gulf of Mexico to oil drilling. The Deepwater Horizon accident, which killed eleven people and wrecked the marine environment and the fishing and tourist industries which depend upon it, should have been an opportunity for the country to learn from the mistakes of the past.
Offshore drilling is never safe, no matter what a company might claim. Accidents happen on a regular basis, leading to the devastation of the environment and very often the loss of human life.
Furthermore, the United States should be moving away from its fossil fuel dependence, which aside from accidents, is causing serious environmental problems, including ocean acidification, air pollution and climate. The catastrophic economic impact of these would not be offset by a few extra short-term dollars and jobs obtained from encouraging a dangerous industry.
We ask that you stop allowing the expansion of drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and instead focus on developing the sustainable industries of tourism and renewable energy.
Thank you for your attention.
