April 30, 2010
Gulf Spill Oozes Ashore
The massive spill is reportedly oozing into Louisiana’s wetlands (see trajectory) — and this weekend’s stormy forecast may thwart any efforts to stop it.
The area’s vital fisheries and wildlife are now in grave danger from what appears to be one of the nation’s worst ecological disasters in decades.
Meanwhile, a senior adviser to President Obama said yesterday that there will be no new offshore drilling until an investigation was conducted into the spill — a good start, but it’s not enough. Obama’s plans to expand offshore drilling in new areas wouldn’t take place for years anyway. His administration should halt those plans now and reinstate the moratoria that protected our coastlines for more than twenty-five years.
There’s a comment period open now, and it closes next Monday, May 3. Tell Secretary Salazar today that enough is enough. We need clean energy, like the offshore wind project he approved earlier this week — not expanded offshore drilling, and its associated catastrophic risks.
Matt Niemerski is an Ocean Advocate at Oceana.