In April 2017, President Donald Trump implemented the “America First” executive order, designed to encourage oil and gas drilling in the Atlantic Ocean.
Last January, he signed another one, to expand oil and gas drilling, pipelines and export facilities in coastal areas, including the Atlantic Ocean. In addition, he streamlined the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act, and is eliminating clean energy tax credits, so the leasing and drilling, etc., can move faster. Suits and countersuits abound.
Opening up these areas poses significant threats to nearly every coastal community in the U.S. and to the health and economic resilience of millions of people, wild animals and watersheds that rely on clean oceans.
It only takes one spill. Fifteen years ago, Deepwater Horizon rolled through the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem, and it has still not recovered.
As a concerned coastal community, can we really wait any longer for wind to power our future energy needs? Even without a spill, climate change demands a need to safely provide sustainable power.
Linda Sullivan Schulte
Selbyville
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
