Keep Offshore Drilling Out of Climate Change Legislation

Dear President Obama,

I am writing today to urge you to protect our oceans and coasts from offshore oil drilling. While we need to control climate change, expanding offshore drilling is not the way to do it. Healthy, productive oceans should not be sacrificed for a climate bill. Drilling will lead only to more carbon dioxide emissions and more climate change which fuels ocean acidification. There is a better solution.

For more than 25 years, the United States has protected our coasts by keeping much of our offshore waters out of the hands of the oil companies. Last year, these protections were unfortunately allowed to lapse. Now it is up to you to ensure that our vital marine resources are managed responsibly and that no new areas are opened to offshore drilling.

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With drilling, spills and environmental catastrophes are bound to occur. One brand new oil drilling platform in the Timor Sea gushed millions of gallons of oil into the ocean over the course of more than 70 days before finally being capped just this week. If this spill occurred in United States waters, it could devastate our fisheries, ocean wildlife and coastal tourism. Energy and climate legislation is intended to decrease pollution in our air, but should not pollute our oceans in the process. I strongly urge you not to support any legislation that threatens our coasts with expanded offshore drilling. A climate bill should bolster clean, renewable energy, not expand dirty oil drilling.

Please urge the Congress to pass a climate bill that does not expand oil drilling.