Last month President George Bush lifted the White House ban on offshore drilling, citing a need to wean America off its dependence on foreign oil. Bush was then joined by several notable members of congress to lift federal moratorium on offshore drilling.
This is a bad idea.
Offshore drilling threatens our Northwest coastal and marine environment. Increased spills and industrialization associated with drilling offshore will result in devastation, including the introduction of dilling fluid additives into the environment, which harm or kill fish and other marine life.
The following “unavoidable” consequences of offshore drilling were listed by the Minerals Management Service about drilling in the Gulf of Mexico: erosion of wetlands, air pollution, contamination by toxic chemicals, dumping of industrial waste and debris, and the decline of fish populations.
And to think we could have all that on our coast. Lovely.
