President Obama is expected to announce today that offshore oil drilling in the Arctic will be postponed for one year, and planned lease sales off the coast of Virginia and in the western Gulf of Mexico have been cancelled. New deepwater offshore permits will reportedly be put on hold for six months. However, shallow water permits will reportedly be allowed to proceed.
Defenders of Wildlife executive vice president Jamie Rappaport Clark said, “Safeguarding the Arctic Ocean for another year from dirty, damaging oil drilling is absolutely the right thing to do. We thank President Obama and Interior Secretary Salazar for their leadership and for taking this important step. Any spill in the Arctic would have devastating consequences for the region’s fragile wildlife and ecosystems, and there is no technology in existence that could clean up a spill in the area’s broken sea ice and frigid waters. We’re relieved that Arctic drilling will not go forward this summer, and we hope that ultimately these leases will be permanently cancelled.
“Much more remains to be done, however. In particular, the practice of categorically excluding offshore oil and gas activities from meaningful environmental review must be ended. The tragedy unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico is a reminder that offshore oil drilling is never safe for the environment or for the communities along our coasts. Oil in the water is dangerous for fisheries, wildlife and ecosystems no matter the depth of the water. It’s good news that President Obama is extending a moratorium on new deepwater permits for six months. Hopefully, his review of the Gulf oil disaster will lead to a permanent moratorium on new offshore drilling anywhere along our coasts. America’s coastal communities, human and natural, are far too precious to risk the devastation we’re now seeing as a result of the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster. Moreover, as the President recognized in his remarks in California yesterday, the disaster in the Gulf is a wake-up call to the nation that it is time to move away from continued reliance on dirty, polluting fossil fuels and to move toward responsible development of clean, renewable energy.
“We remain convinced that a renewed presidential moratorium on new offshore drilling, including the Arctic and all other sensitive American waters, is the right next step. And in light of recent revelations about MMS and the short shrift that agency has given to environmental reviews and the potential for catastrophic accidents, clearly all existing leases should undergo a comprehensive review in light of these changed circumstances to insure that accidents like the Deepwater Horizon, and the heartbreaking impacts we’re seeing in the Gulf, never happen again.”
Defenders of Wildlife leads the pack when it comes to protecting wild animals and plants in their natural communities.
This is not the huge win for polar bears you claim. This is just a 6 month reprieve. Despite our hopes and prayers, this president is little better than the past. Time is on the side of the polluters and other destroyers of the environment. All they need to do is wait for rulings and administrations that allow them to continue their evil ways. All you do is slow it down by little bits. Its a sad reality. Just look at your flagship: wolves. Those magical animals were reintroduced and protected until the Bushies (and Obama) allowed open season on them. 30+ years of hard work down the drain.
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Linda Averill Reply:
May 27th, 2010 at 8:40 pm
Marty, thank you, thank you, thank you and AMEN! for your comments. I so agree with you. We must press the mainstream environmental groups to not settle for so little. And yes, this is aimed at getting some public outrage off the prez and that terrible interior secretary of his, so that they can sneak back later and open up the drilling. (not to mention all the other projects that are still in the pipeline. Now is the time to hike up the heat and demand a permanent ban on drilling.
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Six-month suspension is a positive step forward – hopefully this will move toward permanently stopping off-shore drilling in US waters.
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This is a victory due to the massive outrage of the public about what is underway in the Gulf. However, we should not thank President Obama or Interior Secretary Ken Salazar for finally letting up in Alaska, rather we should pour even more heat on them to demand a complete and permanent end to all off shore drilling.
Big oil does not have the technology to clean up their spills when they dig like this. If the BP spill has taught us anything, it has taught us this. Therefore, any drilling is irresponsible. Let the U.S. government tighten up CAFE standards and fund mass public transit. Then we won’t be so desperate for oil as to put the environment and entire species in such peril. No more Gulf catastrophes!
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If ever the case was made against off-shore drilling, the whole mess in the Gulf should be it. Instead of all this money going into off-shore drilling, why isn’t it going toward new energy sources and getting away from oil. Was I the only one who noticed how fast the Hy-breds came out on the market when we faced the oil problems a couple of years ago? What it told me is that alternative vehicles have already been developed and were ready to be introduced, but because of the large oil companies, they were being withheld from the public’s knowledge until a crisis approached bring the big auto companies down and an end to the large gas eating SUVs. Duhhhh?? Ok, now the government, the car companies and the oil magnets need to shift gears into producing affordable, alternative vehicles to the US and to the world. As Americans, when we quit allowing the energy companies, the drug companies and the insurance industry from dictating policy in Washington DC, we will win this energy battle. We are lied to by all of the above and keep taking it. Are we really all that dumb????
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No Terri you weren’t the only one to notice that oil is on it’s last legs. I live near a big city and the increase in the number of bicycles with all kinds of rigs on them for transporting kids, pets, large loads), hybrid vehicles and people taking public transport has to be seen to be believed. British Petroleum has manufactured solar panels for nearly 20 years. They know quite well that oil’s on its way out and are investing in the real energy sources of the future. How hard can it be?
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