The white house has announced that it will no longer allow fossil fuel companies to conduct oil and gas drilling along the coast in the southeastern part of the country. The decision came after residents of North and South Carolina and Virginia expressed their concern about the effects this drilling would cause to the coastline and the ocean.
Many of the people living in these states earn their living from fishing and tourism. These industries account for nearly 1.4 million jobs and generate an average gross domestic product of over $95 billion. They also depend on a healthy ocean environment, and residents were worried that drilling would cause damage and possibly lead to messy oil spills.
Although 750 state and local elected officials, 101 members of Congress, and 1,100 businesses have publicly stated their opposition to the drilling plan, several governors, including Nikki Haley, Pat McCrory, and Terry McAuliffe, were in full support of it.
According to reports, 110 towns along the shore have successfully passed laws that ban offshore drilling in their areas. According to a study done by the Center for a Blue Economy, offshore drilling causes harm to ocean life, and even if oil was found in these areas, there is no way to transport or refine the product, so the economic benefits would be slim.
Additionally, the Pentagon expressed concern for the plan. They stated that it could cause disruption to naval exercises and missile tests.
Residents of these southern, coastal states also vividly remember the Deepwater Horizon oil spill that happened in 2010. The explosion on the oil platform ended up killing eleven workers and spilling nearly five million gallons of water into the ocean. The spill caused nearly $23 billion in damages and the areas around the spill can still be hazardous today.
Although many are relieved the drilling won’t be happening, it is a large setback for the oil industry. Their intention is to expand their drilling operations, but it is clear that President Obama has most often kept the public’s best interest in mind rather than siding with corporate oil companies in these instances. He also seems to be interested in making the switch to renewable and clean energy sources rather than oil and gas energy sources.