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| Dear Friend, |
| The American Petroleum Institute, representing the oil industry, just sued to massively expand oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. |
| If the oil industry got its way, increased offshore drilling would unleash millions of tons of new CO2 pollution every year for decades to come — a catastrophe for our fragile climate. |
| Earthjustice is fighting back with our own lawsuit to protect frontline communities around the Gulf from the devastating health and ecological consequences of new offshore drilling and refining. |
| We stand up to the fossil fuel industry using the power of the law and the best environmental attorneys in the country — backed 100% by generous donors. With your support, we will win the fight for a healthy planet and a livable future. |
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| I won’t sugarcoat it. Our climate is quickly overtaking 1.5 degrees of warming, the threshold scientists say we must avoid in order to prevent dire planetary impacts. |
| Yet with this lawsuit, the oil industry is trying to hold our future hostage for the sake of its own profit. |
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| Some background: In December, the Department of the Interior approved a new Five-Year Program for offshore oil and gas leasing, which dictates how much of the Gulf oil companies can lease for oil and gas exploration. |
| The new plan reduced the number of leases from 11 down to three, after over 78,000 Earthjustice advocates submitted comments telling the Biden administration to stop Gulf lease sales altogether. |
| But this week, the American Petroleum Institute sued the Department of the I nterior to increase the number of lease sales and give the fossil fuel industry access to a bigger chunk of the Gulf. |
| Leasing public land and federal waters to oil companies is hardly in the public interest – quite the opposite. The United States Geological Survey estimates that fossil fuels extracted from public lands and federal waters are responsible for almost a quarter of the greenhouse gases generated by the United States. Meanwhile, this year U.S. oil production is poised to reach an all-time high of 13.3 million barrels of oil a day , which will likely make the U.S. the No. 1 crude oil producer in the world. |
| The oil industry’s insatiable demand for new drilling despite its record profits is destroying our climate. Earthjustice is the most powerful legal force fighting for the environment in the United States, and we are opposing the oil industry in dozens of lawsuits. We can win these fights, but our strength depends on you. |
| We’ve fought these threats for 50 years with your support. Donate today and help us win the legal battles that will determine the future of our planet. |
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Sincerely,
Brettny Hardy
Senior Attorney, Oceans Program
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