Ocean Advocates Applaud Biden Administration’s Actions on Ocean Protection
Source: Environmental Defense Center
California advocates are celebrating today’s announcement from the Biden administration to halt oil and gas leasing on federal lands and waters. Advocates with the Protect the Pacific Coalition cite the need to protect the U.S. coastal economy from the risks of oil spills, the growing urgency of addressing the climate crisis, and the potential for healthy oceans to serve as a powerful climate solution.
Trump’s initial proposal from January 2018 would have opened California, Oregon and Washington to new offshore oil and gas leases for the first time in more than 30 years, which sparked a bipartisan wave of opposition across the region and around the country.
“Clean beaches and a healthy ocean are critical drivers of our coastal economies, supporting over 2.6 million jobs and generating roughly $180 billion in GDP,” said Vipe Desai, founding member of the Business Alliance for Protecting the Pacific Coast (BAPPC). "Coastal businesses are already reeling from the pandemic and need reassurances that we won't be dealing with oil spills in the future. The only way to guarantee that is to put the Trump vision for our coasts behind us, and move forward with no new leasing.”
BAPPC represents a broad range of industries--technology, tourism, seafood, real estate, and local chambers of commerce, among others--united in a shared belief that a healthy coast is vital to their bottom lines, as well as the lifestyles of their customers and staff. They recently joined their counterparts on the Atlantic Coast in a letter to the Biden administration about the importance of ending offshore drilling and advancing renewable energy.
Business leaders are among a diverse group of California stakeholders including tribal and indigenous-led organizations, environmental advocates, scientists, and coastal residents who have rallied together to protect the coast from offshore drilling.
“As the original stewards and caretakers of these lands and waters, we are absolutely against drilling in our coastal waters, and oppose the proposed sale of leases off the coast of our traditional and unceded homelands,” said Maura Sullivan, Coastal Band of the Chumash Nation, Ocean Protectors Program Director, Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples. “The drilling that is there is a constant threat and reminder that colonization is an ongoing event for California coastal Native nations. The taking of oil is a violent act. The extraction and movement of oil to process is dangerous for us and our children. We refuse to stand by as the ongoing violence of the fossil fuel industry tries to continue to profit off our last wild and healthy sacred places.”
States and local governments have said they do not want offshore drilling. For example, California lawmakers passed legislation (SB 834 and AB 1775), banning the development of new pipelines, platforms, and other infrastructure within state waters needed to bring new offshore oil and gas to shore to be processed.
“We need to say no to more offshore drilling and make the transition to renewable energy today,” said Linda Krop, Chief Counsel of the Environmental Defense Center, which has fought offshore oil development since its founding after the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill. “Californians don’t want more oil drilling off our coast. In addition to the risks of oil spills we cannot take any action that will exacerbate climate change.”
Almost 100 cities and counties across California, representing more than half of the state’s population, have taken action to publicly oppose fossil fuel development in the Pacific. Polling data shows that a majority of voters in California are opposed to offshore drilling.
The Pacific Coast has been closed to new drilling for decades, with the last federal lease sales taking place in 1984. According to the National Ocean Economics Program, tourism, recreation and fishing along California’s coast generate over $23.7 billion dollars a year and support over 429,000 jobs in hotels, restaurants, gas stations, tackle shops, charter boats, and other local businesses.
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73 Comments
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Jan 31, 2021 01:02 PMGood examination of the alternatives here:
https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/01/new-study-a-zero-emissions-us-is-now-pretty-cheap/
No surprise that the nuclear option is the most expensive.
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Jan 28, 2021 05:47 PMhere's one. https://e360.yale.edu/features/its_green_against_green_in_mojave_desert_solar_battle
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Jan 28, 2021 05:43 PMNeither solar panels or wind generators are great or amazing. They are bad for plants, birds, tortoises, bats the list go's on. Put them on your roof not in the Desert
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Jan 28, 2021 05:49 PMBDM - hold on, you forgot the most important drawback - the sounds from windmills cause cancer.
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Jan 28, 2021 05:17 PMThe same place everybody does!
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Jan 28, 2021 02:46 PMWhine of Treason. Is it really that bad, Nannykins?
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Jan 28, 2021 10:34 AMUntil we figure out how to decrease the human population to a sustainable level, all of these green strategies are just tilting at windmills . Sustainable population at western energy use levels is about 1/3 of what we have now. Put that into your thinking pipe and smoke it for a while.
https://www.worldpopulationbalance.org/3_times_sustainable
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Jan 28, 2021 02:48 PMI agree as well. It's practically unanimous.
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Jan 28, 2021 12:23 PMLook at that. I agree too!
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Jan 28, 2021 11:28 AMI couldn't agree more Pitmix... the problem is population, this world probably isn't meant to handle 8 billion people...let alone the 10 billion we're forecast to have by 2050. It's crazy to think that just 60 years ago the world population was "only" 3 billion.
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Jan 28, 2021 07:37 AMIf we can harness wind and solar power we could make a huge impact! Also, what about the energy the ocean and its waves creates? Going green is good for the world and helps the future people. Seems like common sense!
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Jan 28, 2021 07:22 AMDirty oil (& coal) are the past and the sooner you all get on board with a cleaner future for our entire planet the less time you will have for senseless arguing online and the more time you will have to get out in nature and enjoy life :-) PEACE
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Jan 27, 2021 09:40 PMWhat about the harmful effects of solar panels covering the desert and displacing animals and plants.
Is that ok?
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Jan 28, 2021 04:18 PM@BDM: I work in renewable energy. I've done my research and do it every day. Where did you get your information?
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Jan 28, 2021 03:48 PMDo your research. I have.
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Jan 28, 2021 10:35 AM@PITMIX : it's not that big corps won't benefit, it's that trying to harness solar off private homes is a logistical nightmare. Dealing with ONE landowner with a swath of desert creates far more power and benefit to the community. Further, yes there are environmental impacts (there are for ANY disruption of the surface), but these farms are certainly not displacing herds of animals. They just walk around the fenced areas, if they're too large to inhabit the area underneath and around the panels.
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Jan 28, 2021 10:30 AMZero, your reply is the most offensive thing I have read. The environmental impacts to the desert environment are undeniable and real. Rooftop solar would be way less intrusive but big corporations won't benefit.
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Jan 28, 2021 09:32 AM@BDM 1868: the great thing about solar panels is they do NOT "cover the desert." Due to the energy transmission technology, they solar "farms" can only be certain size. That means, all the big animals just have something in their way, not getting displaced. The little animals can still exist underneath and between them (they don't lie flat on the surface). Go out and check one out sometime. They're amazing, but not as awesome as those giant wind turbines!
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Jan 28, 2021 09:09 AMBDM....seriously? That is, by far, the dumbest thing i've heard all year. fact.
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Jan 28, 2021 08:56 AMWater(dams) do destroy the environment. Solar and wind are part of the solution, not THE solution.
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Jan 28, 2021 07:55 AMBDM,
Hmmm, lets see your logic. Science has proven that coal and related energy is DISTROYING our whole world, including animals and plants. Solar, wind and water(dams) sourced energy do not distroy the ground and air we ALL needs.
Pick one...
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Jan 27, 2021 10:22 PMThat's called whataboutism.
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Jan 27, 2021 09:18 PMTrump and his supporters are fine ruining the world as long as they're on top when we all go down in flames.
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Jan 27, 2021 07:53 PMTo even start to reflect the true costs to society, in terms of its harmful effects, gasoline should at a minimum be priced at about $10 per gallon.
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Jan 27, 2021 07:41 PMA President who Cancelled the crazy multi Billion dollar Iran "deal", Told OPEC to pound sand, Renegotiated NAFTA , Renegotiated Chinese Tariffs, Opened up the Keystone project, Got us out of the one sided and penalizing Kyoto Treaty (meanwhile, India, Russia and China continue to be MASS polluters), Insisted that NATO countries pay their fair share for defense, Gave the U.S. Border Patrol the tools they needed to protect our open/pourous borders and was an @ss to the mainstream politicians, media and didn't play by the Swamps rules.... Now we are back to an apologetic "leader" who will soon be making those that are considered the "working poor" the opportunity to pay more than $5 a gallon for the gas they put in their vehicles to commute to work / jobs.... Nice.
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Jan 28, 2021 12:41 PMCOASTWATCH - change is hard, I know, but we can't continue consuming and polluting the way we do now. It's not sustainable. Renewable energy IS sustainable. That means, it will never run out. Coal will, as well as continue to pollute our air and water. It's very simple. We have to change, might as well get used to and quit kicking and screaming.
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Jan 28, 2021 12:20 PMTo sum up your philosophy--changing things is hard. So why bother, let' just wait until there's not enough oil left to fuel our current manufacturing and energy models and then, uhhhhhh, we can, uhhhhhhh, I dunno--oh, wait, I do know! We get to go to war for the last drops!
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Jan 28, 2021 09:38 AMMany of us pay a lot less to fuel our cars, either we have hybrid or electric vehicles. Many more of us will in the future. My hybrid gets close to 50 miles a gallon and my next car will be electric.
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Jan 28, 2021 09:08 AMcoast. nice info copied from some right wing media outlet, based on nothing more than words from a failed president. the terminology and ideology that you are regurgitating on this thread, is just that...political hyperbole and rhetoric.
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Jan 27, 2021 08:22 PMNothing you said Coastwatch was steeped in alt-reality propaganda - true doublespeak. I’m not ever really sure what that means.
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Jan 27, 2021 07:48 PMYou do realize that tariffs are paid by the American consumer, don't you? And trump was a swampier creature than the late, great Mary Lou. Your other talking points are equally steeped in alt-reality propaganda - true doublespeak.
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Jan 27, 2021 05:28 PMNon response?
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Jan 27, 2021 06:19 PMFact check: True.
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Jan 27, 2021 05:21 PMPax, You say down. I say up. We could never agree.
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Jan 28, 2021 02:46 PMHappy to be on the side of reality. To curry more favor with the EdHat nanny currently experiencing pangs of unevenhandedness and faktriolic outrage, I will wish you a good day and hope we never have the misfortune of meeting.
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Jan 27, 2021 05:19 PMTime for us to live smarter:
https://time.com/5930093/amsterdam-doughnut-economics/
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Jan 27, 2021 05:03 PMPresident Trump created 6.6 Million jobs in the first Three years.
4.4 % more then Obama. Then we where sent the China Virus!
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Jan 28, 2021 04:41 PMExcuse me! I specifically said there was no excuse for violence, anytime, and absolutely no where did I ever defend the people that ransacked the capital building. But by all means, ignore all the other violence that occurred the past year and the inciteful rhetoric that came from your preferred political party.
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Jan 28, 2021 02:05 PMVOICE OF TREASON - you absolutely ARE defined by those you defend and support. Although you yourself weren't there trying to kill government officials and beating police officers because you were mad about losing an election, you still defend them and make excuses trying to downplay what we all know they were doing.
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Jan 28, 2021 01:52 PMVOR, if you vote for them, if you give money to them, if you try and justify their violence...then it absolutely defines you.
Accept responsibility for your actions. What is the deal with so many right wing professional victims these days? Everything is someone else's fault. You want to egg on the psychos by joining in to their fantasies and conspiracy theories but when the lunatics start killing people, oh, it's nothing to do with you. Right.
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Jan 28, 2021 01:47 PMWhat a dummy. It's not about what WE think they were able to do or were planning on doing, it's about what THEY think. Yes, a bunch of these psychos think that they are going to murder a bunch of politicians in the streets, along with all the people they consider troublesome or inferior, i.e., non-whites, Jews, LGBTQ people, etc.. You've never heard of "The Day of the Rope", I guess. Google it.
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Jan 28, 2021 01:23 PMVOR - thank you. I feel way better now about everything lol :)
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Jan 28, 2021 01:06 PMOkay, I apologize for calling it a Viking helmet.
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Jan 28, 2021 12:44 PMVOICE OF TREASON - yes, it had horns, but it was not a viking helmet. It was modeled after Native American headdresses with bison skins. Vikings didn't wear bison skins. Come on, get it straight!
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Jan 28, 2021 01:45 PMAlex, fringe groups from the far corners of our society, from the extremes of the entire political spectrum, do not define the other 99.999% of us.
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Jan 28, 2021 12:37 PMWhatever kind of hat/helmet he was wearing (pretty sure it had horns), you are all gaslit big time if you think if you think the people who went into capital were going to overthrow anything. You know the capital building isn't a game of king of the hill, whoever is standing behind the podium (or takes the podium) doesn't get to rule the USA? Sac, clearly most were just being stupid and following the crowd (they were let in by the police), it was a small fraction who came with intent for violence. You may excuse violence, riots, looting, destruction if you approve the cause, I think there is no excuse for it no matter your affiliations. There is always a better way.
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Jan 28, 2021 11:36 AMOf course they believed it, Q-tard. Trust this--the next year or two will bring unprecedented domestic terrorism from the radical right wing of white supremacists, neo-nazis, and cultists. There will be more blood In the streets and apologists like you are enabling these lunatics
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Jan 28, 2021 11:34 AMA mob of neo-nazis, white supremacists, and Q-tards defiled our Democracy. VOR, you're trying to explain away and justify a violent cult.
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Jan 28, 2021 09:53 AMVOICE OF TREASON - oops, missed something. At no point did any BLM mob scream in unison, WHILE attacking the Capitol of the United States, "Hang Mike Pence" after having erected a gallows outside, while also searching for Nancy Pelosi, all fueled by a violent and treasonous conspiracy theory for which many have professed they would die for. No, NOT the same as people rioting out of anger and frustration that people are still treated disparately based solely on the color of their skin.
To compare the fight for racial equality with a mass temper tantrum based on verifiable lies from a sitting president is wrong and you KNOW it.
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Jan 28, 2021 09:48 AMVOICE OF TREASON - Gaslit? Dude, I was watching it unfold. They went in there violently with the clear intent of stopping the vote and harming lawmakers. Some may have been just being stupid and following the crowd, but most were there to cause harm in their "fight" to "save their country" from a "fraudulent election." The SOLE reason they were there was to disrupt the process, our DEMOCRACY. They went to rob us of our choice. Explain the para military guys and gals with zip ties and bulletproof vests? Just "hooligans" to mess around and take silly photos in the Capitol? Dude, stop defending and excusing traitors!
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