Just days after Florida voters approved a ban on drilling in state-owned waters, the Trump Administration gave the green light to five oil and gas companies to use seismic airgun blasts to search for oil and gas deposits that could be buried in the sea floor from New Jersey to Florida.
Such approvals will harm whales and dolphins in order to allow the oil industry to search for oil and gas with risky seismic airgun technology. These sonic blasts haven’t been used to search for oil since the 1980s.
The authorization is part of the Trump administration’s America First Offshore Energy Strategy and overturns the Obama Administration’s 2017 decision to deny such permits.
It is preposterous that the Trump Administration is choosing to grant a favor to Big Oil while jeopardizing our environment and economy. Floridians made it clear that they oppose drilling off our coasts through the passage of Amendment 9, which bans oil and gas drilling in nearshore waters.
What you can do:
Call Governor Scott (850-488-7146) and remind him that he said Florida is “off the table for oil drilling.” The trade off of possibly finding some oil deposits in the Atlantic off of Florida is not worth killing tourism and our fishing industry and harming marine life.
The recent passage of Amendment 9 should be a clear enough signal to this administration and to Florida’s leaders that Floridians oppose drilling off our shores. Rather, we should embrace policies that are better for our coasts and supported by the American people.
