The National Business Roundtable: Protecting our coast and creating a thriving clean coastal economy - Oceana USA
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June 7, 2021

The National Business Roundtable: Protecting our coast and creating a thriving clean coastal economy

BY: Ben Davis

Climate and Energy

On Tuesday, June 1, business leaders, ocean advocates, and federal and local elected officials came together for a roundtable discussion on the importance of permanently protecting our coasts from dirty and dangerous offshore oil drilling.  

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Nancy Downes, Oceana Field Representative, Massachusetts introduces Rep. Mike Levin (D- CA-49) to kick off the event.

The National Business Roundtable was an opportunity for business leaders from across the country to discuss the importance of healthy oceans and clean beaches for their communities and businesses, while advocating for permanent protections from offshore oil drilling off their coasts. Regional business alliance leaders provided remarks, including Thomas Kies, president of the Carteret County (N.C.) Chamber of Commerce and the Business Alliance for Protecting the Atlantic Coast; Robin Miller, President and CEO of the Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber of Commerce and chair of the Florida Gulf Coast Business Coalition; and Vipe Desai, CEO of HDX Mix and a founding member of the Business Alliance for Protecting the Pacific Coast. The business leaders shared stories of the devastation caused by disastrous oil spills like the BP Deepwater Horizon tragedy and discussed the value that a healthy ocean brings to their communities.  

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Thomas Kies, President of the Business Alliance for Protecting the Atlantic Coast, discusses the economic benefits of permanent protections from offshore drilling.

Rep. Mike Levin (D-CA) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) urged Congress to take up the mantle to pass permanent protections, and Marissa Knodel of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) provided an update from the Biden-Harris administration on their current leasing pause. 

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Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) urging Congress to pass permanent protections from offshore oil drilling.

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Marissa Knodel of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) provided an update from the Biden-Harris administration on federal government’s offshore drilling policy.

Captain Dylan Hubbard joined live from his marina in Madeira Beach on Florida’s Gulf Coast to discuss the importance of clean, healthy oceans to his business. He is the VP of Hubbard’s Marina, which runs deep-sea fishing trips, dolphin tours, and snorkeling trips off Florida’s coast, all of which are threatened by dirty and dangerous offshore oil drilling.  

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Capt. Dylan Hubbard joins live from his marina in FL to discuss the importance of a healthy ocean to his business.

Mayor Rett Newton of Beaufort, North Carolina added a local perspective on the vital role the coastal economy plays in his town, and the importance of protecting it from offshore drilling. Along with Beaufort, hundreds of municipalities up and down America’s coasts have said no to offshore oil drilling, with 392 communities passing official resolutions to protect their coasts.  

At the end of the event, Oceana’s deputy vice president for U.S. campaigns Beth Lowell officially announced the launch of a new national business coalition to help win policy victories that protect, restore, and maintain ocean abundance and biodiversity. The National Business Coalition for the Oceans will build on the success of regional alliances along the Atlantic, Pacific, and Eastern Gulf in the fight to stop the expansion of dirty and dangerous offshore drilling, and will engage in other important issues like stopping plastic pollution, protecting endangered species, promoting responsible fishing, stopping illegal fishing, and expanding transparency. 

To catch the event replay, it can be viewed here. Note, Oceana is a nonpartisan organization. The participation of any political candidate in this event should not be viewed as a statement endorsing or opposing any candidate. This event was closed to press. 

If you are a business owner interested in joining the National Business Coalition for the Oceans, you can sign-up online: www.oceana.org/businesscoalition  https://www.youtube.com/embed/gWZ0A9neDIg

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