Offshore Drilling: Overview
Offshore drilling harms the oceans. Not only is oil pollution damaging to marine life, but the emissions from the continued use of oil contribute to climate change and ocean acidification.
While moratoria prevented oil drilling on most U.S. coasts for more than 25 years, the bans were lifted by President Bush and Congress in 2008. When President Obama took office, his administration put a hold on the plan to allow appropriate time for comments from all sides of the drilling debate.
But in March 2010, President Obama announced that he would open much of the Atlantic coastline, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the north coast of Alaska to offshore drilling, including areas that were previously protected.
Shortly after this announcement, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in April, 2010, resulting in the largest accidental oil spill in history. Oil poured into the Gulf of Mexico for 87 days, releasing 200 million gallons of oil pollution into the marine environment. The consequences of this disaster will continue to accumulate for many years to come, and this serves a clear example of the dangers of offshore drilling.
The question is not whether there will be another spill, but when. Oceana has long been working to prevent the expansion of offshore oil drilling, and in December of 2010 it was announced that in the new 5 year plan for offshore drilling, no new offshore drilling would be allowed in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico or off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. The Eastern Gulf of Mexico was even protected from offshore oil and gas exploration for the next seven years.
This proposed ban on drilling in these sensitive habitats is a monumental victory for our oceans.
