Put Our Coasts Permanently Off Limits to Offshore Drilling

Fossil fuel industry donors are getting their money’s worth out of their bet on this president. Trump’s proposal to auction off 1.27 billion acres of our public waters off California, in the Gulf of Mexico and in the Arctic Ocean for oil and gas drilling is just the latest return on their investment. The problem is regular Americans living on our coasts are going to be the ones who pay for it. We’re saying no, and Congress must too. A recent analysis by the Center for Biological Diversity has suggested Trump’s plan could generate 4,000 additional oil spills, and it comes at a time when this administration has rolled back safety regulations to prevent them and cut the staff who enforce them. We’re also seeing more and worsening hurricanes as a result of climate change which further exacerbate the risk. And even during normal operations, drilling will produce a toxic sludge that will impact ecosystems humans and wildlife rely on. We all vividly remember the costs of Deepwater Horizon. The tourism, recreation and fishing industries that employ so many of us and pour so much money into our economies will bear the brunt of expanded offshore drilling. Public health will suffer from increased pollution. (All this may explain why drilling will still be banned off Mar-a-Lago under Trump’s proposal). The Department of Defense has in the past suggested that it might even be a problem for military readiness, with part of the area opened crossing into the Gulf Test Range. Further, it will only serve to deepen the climate crisis. That’s why two-thirds of American voters back protections against offshore drilling, and more than 400 municipalities, 59,000 businesses and elected officials ranging from Gavin Newsom to Ron DeSantis have spoken up against expanding it. Please make it clear to the White House that you will fight them tooth and nail to stop this plan from moving forward. Beyond that, it’s time we bury this idea once and for all. A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers has proposed a package of legislation that would permanently protect our coasts from new offshore drilling, including the COAST Anti-Drilling Act (H.R. 2881/S.1486), the West Coast Ocean Protection Act (H.R. 2849/S.1432), the Florida Coastal Protection Act (H.R. 2673), the Stop Arctic Ocean Drilling Act (H.R. 2848/ S.1445) and the Defend Our Coast Act (H.R. 2886). Please co-sponsor these bills and work to pass them into law as swiftly as possible. Americans want cheaper energy. The way to get it is to stop deliberately sabotaging the wind and solar industries, not putting everyone on our coasts at risk for Big Oil profits.