The Trump Administration just announced plans to dramatically expand where offshore drilling can occur, including places where it has never happened, or where lease sales have not been held for decades. This is a massive giveaway to the fossil fuel industry at our expense.
Let's make our voices heard. Will you add your name to our petition telling the Trump Administration that you oppose their plan to expand offshore oil and gas leasing?
Every oil spill starts with a lease sale, and we have seen firsthand the devastating effects offshore drilling has on our health, safety, and environment. From toxic air pollution to contaminated water and wildlife habitat to fueling extreme weather, offshore drilling poses unacceptable risks. We must urge the Interior Department to change its plans to expand offshore drilling.
Tell the Trump Administration you oppose expanding offshore oil and gas leasing now!
Dear Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM),
I strongly urge BOEM not to allow new offshore oil and gas leasing in the National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program. Offshore drilling poses serious risks to coastal communities, local economies, and public health and safety, and should not be expanded anywhere in U.S. waters.
Most Americans, especially those that live and work along the coast, oppose offshore drilling. Coastal communities depend on a healthy ocean and shorelines for tourism, fishing, recreation, and other major industries that support millions of jobs and bring in billions of dollars each year. Offshore drilling threatens our fisheries and marine wildlife, including endangered whales such as belugas in Alaska's Cook Inlet and Rice's whales in the Gulf. The ever-present threat of major oil spills like the BP disaster, which cost over $60 billion in damages and cleanup costs, puts our ecosystems, communities, and economies at risk.
Offshore drilling also threatens our health and safety. Even under normal operations, drilling and associated onshore operations release toxic air pollutants linked to major health issues, along with emissions that make extreme weather even more dangerous. The federal government has a basic responsibility to protect our public health, and approving new offshore oil and gas leasing would move us in the opposite direction.
Notably, the plan does not expand drilling to areas off the Atlantic coast, where the President owns beachfront property. This administration clearly understands the risks of offshore drilling and should extend the same level of precaution to all of our nation's coastal communities.
I am also deeply concerned that this administration may limit ways for communities to weigh in on drilling plans. Cutting people out of decisions that directly impact their economy, health, and safety is not only unacceptable, it's also deeply undemocratic. BOEM should commit to full public participation, including holding public meetings and conducting thorough environmental reviews, especially in areas where communities would be most affected by new offshore drilling.
Offshore drilling won't lower costs for families; it only exposes us to more price spikes and unnecessary risks. Clean energy is the solution we need for stable, affordable new energy. Rather than expanding dangerous offshore drilling and handing our coastal waters to polluters, we should be focused on building out clean energy and holding the oil and gas industry accountable for the damage it has already caused.
For the sake of our coasts, our economy, and our health, I urge BOEM to reconsider this reckless and unpopular plan to expand offshore drilling.
Sincerely,
