| Hi Friend, |
| I wrote to you a few days ago to tell you about 73.3 million acres of the Gulf of Mexico that are about to be auctioned off for oil and gas development. Now, on the day of this historically massive, disastrous sale, I am once again asking for your help. |
| We are fighting to save every possible acre of the Gulf, and hold the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management accountable. |
| We are fighting for local Gulf communities who already bear the worst effects of oil and gas infrastructure and climate change. |
| We are fighting for the critically endangered Gulf of Mexico whale, whose population has dwindled to fewer than 100 individual whales remaining. |
| We are fighting to keep global warming below a critical threshold to avoid climate disaster. |
| Please, join this fight. We depend on your support. |
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Sincerely,
George Torgun
Senior Attorney, Earthjustice
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------FORWARDED MESSAGE------
From: Earthjustice <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, March 24, 2023
Subject: 73.3 million acres in the Gulf is for sale @earthjustice.org> |
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| Dear Friend, |
| In just a few days, 73.3 million acres of public waters in the Gulf of Mexico will be auctioned off for oil and gas drilling. |
| {Earthjustice is taking the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to court. We’re fighting to protect every possible acre in the Gulf, and we won’t back down. Help us fight back. |
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| This lease sale is tied to the Inflation Reduction Act, an otherwise helpful bill that passed last year and bolstered efforts to tackle climate change. The Act requires the lease sale to be held by March 31. It is not required, however, to hold one of the largest lease sales in history — including almost all available unleased areas in the western and central Gulf of Mexico. |
| The sale could inflict pollution and health risks on local communities, further threaten critically endangered species like the Gulf of Mexico whale, and move us all closer to climate disaster with the resulting greenhouse gas emissions. |
| Lease sale 259 is estimated to produce 1 billion barrels of oil and 4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the project falsely claimed that its greenhouse gas emissions would be similar to not holding a lease sale. |
| On March 6, Earthjustice filed a legal challenge stating that BOEM did not adequately assess the lease sale’s impact on local Gulf communities, imperiled species, or our global climate. As we near the 13th anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon BP oil spill, we cannot forget the catastrophic damage that unchallenged fossil fuel development has caused to local ecosystems, economies, and communities. |
| For over 50 years, Earthjustice has fought back against bad decisions that worsen climate change and deepen injustice. We're prepared to hold the Biden administration accountable, and we need your help. |
| Please, continue the fight for a just, sustainable, clean energy future. |
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In partnership,
George Torgun
Senior Attorney, Earthjustice |
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