Recently the House of Representatives approved (H.R. 2231) a vast increase in oil and gas exploration and drilling in the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic oceans. Calling for fast track leasing of huge areas off the coasts of Virginia, South Carolina, and California in the next two years, the bill would ultimately bring this dirty and dangerous business to the entire Atlantic coast for the first time in decades. It would renew drilling off southern California and expand leasing in our most sensitive oceans off Alaska even though oil spill cleanup there is next to impossible.
Dear Senator Reid,
When the ‘drill anywhere and everywhere’ bill (HR. 2231) is introduced in the Senate sometime soon, please sink this one to the bottom of the pile where it belongs. Don’t let Big Oil drill in sensitive oceans like Bristol Bay, Alaska, or expand their footprint to the Atlantic coast or drill again off Southern California. Congress has yet to fix the drilling program and liability provisions after the worst offshore oil spill in US history (the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010) despite many good proposals to do just that. Oil drilling does NOT mix with clean oceans and beaches. Our coastal economies and jobs depend on clean water and healthy oceans. Just say NO to this ocean grab.
Sincerely,
