Here’s why President Obama must block oil drilling in the Atlantic

This December, world leaders will convene in Paris to make one of the most important decisions in human history: how the world is going to finally address the ever-growing climate crisis.

President Obama has already made huge progress on climate change. The Clean Power Plan will limit dangerous carbon pollution from U.S. power plants for the first time ever, and he’s brokered a historic climate accord with China. But now President Obama risks tarnishing his climate legacy by leaving vast swaths of the Atlantic coast vulnerable to oil and gas drilling.

Early this year, the Obama administration proposed a five-year plan for drilling off America’s eastern seaboard. Here are five reasons this is a terrible idea.

1. Disasters will happen.

Just as we’ve seen with oil spills in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico, wherever there is oil drilling, disasters will follow. Drilling in the Atlantic—which has been off-limits—could have grave consequences not only for marine habitats but also for millions of people living along the East Coast, from Virginia to Georgia.

2. Oil can’t be un-spilled.

When the inevitable does occur, there’s no way to completely eradicate the mess left behind. Drilling technologies have advanced over the years, but no new cleanup methods have been developed to keep up with them.

Of the combined 211 millions of gallons that were spilled in the Exxon Valdez and Deepwater Horizon disasters, only 8 percent of the oil was cleaned up. Nearly 30 years later, oil from the 1989 Valdez spill still clings to Alaskan beaches. And the Gulf continues to struggle with the mess from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon incident. Why would we allow this to happen on our Atlantic coast?

3. The economic benefits aren’t worth the risks.

Oil spills are financial disasters as well. The Deepwater Horizon spill cost the Gulf of Mexico’s commercial fishing industry almost $250 million. And over just three years, the tourism business lost $23 billion. Along the Atlantic coast, the tourism, fishery, and recreational industries employ almost one million people. The expense of a spill in this area would be on a potentially unprecedented scale.

4. It could break the carbon budget.

In order to prevent an unsafe rise in global temperatures, scientists say we need to start reducing our expansion of fossil fuels and begin converting to renewable energy. By opening new sources of oil and gas to drilling, President Obama would be negating the positive steps he’s taken to reduce carbon emissions.

5. We need to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.

As one of the world’s leading polluters, America needs to lead by example. If the international community sees the United States as being hypocritical and not pulling our own weight on climate action, it could hinder a global agreement. President Obama should continue to take the reins on climate action and declare the Atlantic off-limits to drilling once and for all.

It’s not too late. Act now!

Join NRDC in telling President Obama to stop this dangerous offshore drilling plan. It’s not too late for him to avoid mucking up his climate legacy. But more importantly—for the health of the Atlantic Ocean and our planet as a whole—it’s not too late to secure a cleaner tomorrow.

Photo: Deepwater Horizon rig fire - United States Coast Guard