Obama Re-opens Deepwater Drilling

The Obama administration announced yesterday the lifting of the 4-month-old moratorium on deep-water (i.e., 500 ft) offshore drilling. The decision to end the moratorium comes before final safety studies on the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico have been completed. According to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, recently strengthened rules and improved oversight have reduced risks to a point where offshore drilling can be allowed to resume. However, major questions remain about the causes of the BP disaster and whether future deepwater drilling activities will sufficiently protect human safety and the environment. Specifically, it remains unclear why the Macondo well blowout preventer failed, causing the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history. Commented Pete Stauffer, Ocean Ecosystem Program Manager for the Surfrider Foundation, "We find it troubling that the Obama Administration is already opening up deepwater drilling before final sudies from the President’s Oil Spill Commission, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Coast Guard/ BOEM Investigation have been completed." The Surfrider Foundation remains opposed to any new offshore oil drilling as our nation’s oceans, waves and beaches are vital recreational, economic and ecological resources that will be polluted by an increase in offshore drilling.

Follow UGA's Marine Science Departments research on the "lost" oil

Scientists at UGA were amongst the first to find signals of the underwater oil plume and more recently a thick layer of oil on the seafloor that was reported on NPR.

Dr. Samantha Joye, who is leading some of this research, has created a blog so you can flow along: http://gulfblog.uga.edu/

Surfrider Foundation Joins Forces with 350.org

 Surfrider Foundation was approached by 350.org to help raise awareness about climate change and their 10-10-10 Global Work Party.  We jumped at the opportunity to work with them because many of our programs and campaigns are inextricably linked to climate change.  Obviously, our Not the Answer campaign is a perfect match to help raise awareness about climate change, in general, and join forces with 350.org.

The goal of 10-10-10 is to inspire the world to tackle climate change and send a strong message to our leaders in government that we insist on enforceable laws that reduce CO2 levels to 350 parts per billion.   350 is the focus because scientists say that if we can't get below that, the damage we're already seeing from climate change will continue to accelerate.

The idea behind the 10-10-10 Work Party is simple.  Plan something in your local community that will help deal with global warming and raise awareness about the problem.    In Auckland, New Zealand, they're having a giant bike fix-up day to get every bike in the city back on the road.  In the Maldives, they're putting up solar panels on the President's office.  In Uganda, they are going to plant thousands of trees, and in Bolivia they're installing solar stoves for a massive carbon neutral picnic.

To find an event near you, go here.  










  

Latest Explosion in the Gulf

On Thursday morning, there was another oil rig explosion in the Gulf.  By Thursday afternoon, Mariner (who operates the production platform) confirmed all 13 workers were safe and accounted for.  By Friday morning, the Coast Guard reported to CNBC that a mile long oil sheen was seen near the Mariner explosion, but they were unclear if the oil was coming for the recent blast or the Deep Horizon spill from April.

The world breathed a sigh of relief when no major spill occurred, yet at the same time, environmentalists and local Gulf residents were disturbed that another explosion has happened.  According to a recent Washington Post article, rig fires, worker deaths/injuries and blowouts occur more frequently than the media reports.  The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management confirmed each year 650-850 serious "incidents" are reported in the Gulf.  

Clearly the recent explosion is another wake up call that we need to wean ourselves off fossil fuels.  Not only are fossil fuels perpetuating climate change, but the industry itself is risky, dangerous and dirty.  One way to begin that process is for President Obama and Congress to permanently ban new offshore oil drilling.  The Surfrider Foundation has maintained this position long before the "season of spills" in the Gulf.

Grist Magazine published a great article after the Marine spill last Thursday.  It's an interesting global perspective.

Coming to Beach Nearest You?

Florida Chapters Start State Constitutional Ban Effort

Florida Members want the public to have the chance to vote on near-shore oil drilling and to ban the possibility of this destructive practice. Oil drilling in Florida marine waters, which extend approximately three miles into the Atlantic Ocean and 10 miles into the Gulf of Mexico, is simply too great a risk to take.

Floridians asked the Legislature, at the Special Session held in July 2010, to place the issue before the voters. Unfortunately, the Legislature did not agree to allow Floridians to vote to amend the State Constitution in the November 2010 general election.

In light of the inaction of the Legislature, and to forestall any future attempt to allow near-shore oil drilling, a number of Florida organizations have created Save our Seas, Beaches and Shores, Inc. (SOSBS) to coordinate a citizens’ petition drive to place the ban on the November 2012 ballot. This will not be easy. It will need approximately 700,000 verified petitions from voting Florida residents. The Department of State, Division of Elections has grnted approval for the Constitutional Amendment Petition Form.

If you are a voting Florida Resident or know one please download, sign and mail in today!

Petition Form


One Page information sheet

Sylvia Earle Talks About The Gulf Disaster and Saving Our Seas

Former NOAA chief scientist and passionate advocate for our oceans Sylvia Earle recently sat down with Treehugger.com and talked about, among other things, what the Gulf oil spill means for the ocean’s ecology.

Listen and read the full interview here.