When President Biden was campaigning two years ago, he promised no new oil drilling leases. But now, the U.S. Department of Interior and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) have a five-year plan for offshore drilling – one new lease in Alaska and up to 10 in the Gulf of Mexico over the next 5 years.
This lost-promise and major giveaway to Big Oil would devastate habitats, threaten local economies, and put coastal communities at further risk for even more ecological disasters.Opening our coasts to offshore drilling jeopardizes health, tourism, and fishing jobs, and marine life – particularly in the Gulf of Mexico, where impacts of the Deepwater Horizon disaster can be felt to this day.
For years, we have beat back attempts to expand risky offshore drilling along our coasts. Now, the Department of the Interior and BOEM want to shun renewable energy solutions and perpetuate our reliance on fossil fuels. We will not let them turn over our oceans to Big Oil and risk massive oil spills in our waters.
The public has a chance to weigh in on this proposed five-year offshore oil and gas leasing program. It’s time to flood them with comments – we are against offshore drilling and we will let them know.
