| Friend, The Gulf of Mexico is still ravaged by the Deepwater Horizon spill, 12 years after it happened. The ecosystem has never returned to normal. Protected species, including loggerhead turtles, are still below their previous populations.(1) And the corporation that's responsible never fully paid for the cleanup. So how in the world could the Biden administration be considering a plan to allow more drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and the waters off Alaska? President Biden promised to put a halt to offshore drilling, and now he may reverse that pledge -- unless we put enough public pressure on him.(2)
There is just no such thing as “safe” offshore drilling. Effects from the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska are still seen to this day. And after Hurricane Katrina crushed pipelines, 11 million gallons of oil spilled off the coast of Louisiana, and marine life has never recovered.(3) Worse, the corporations behind these spills are almost never held accountable. Not a single company that owned the Louisiana equipment paid a dime in restoration.(4) And even when the equipment works as it should, it still harms the marine life and environment surrounding it. That’s why it’s outrageous that the Department of the Interior has new plans for oil leases in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico. We need to be turning away from fossil fuels, not digging new wells. The Interior Department is collecting public comments on the proposal, and we need to let the Biden administration know that we are firmly against offshore drilling. Will you sign today? Thank you for joining the fight against harmful offshore drilling.
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