Yes, it's back: Just last year the offshore Atlantic oil and gas development proposal was withdrawn. Earlier this year, the new administration issued an executive order to revive the proposal for offshore drilling.
While I appreciate the two Cape Gazette articles and a recently published letter, readers may not fully know the importance...the urgency of what seismic testing and drilling will do to our coastline and how it will impact our lives. A month ago, MERR (Marine, Education, Research & Rehabilitation) OCEANA and other organizations held a public meeting in Lewes.
Here's what we learned:
• Fishing, tourism and recreation support roughly 24,000 jobs and generate over $1 billion in GDP in Delaware. Fishing industries and recreation/tourism are at risk if seismic testing/surveying moves forward. Businesses in this area surely care about this - don't they?
• In Delaware, offshore wind power has the potential to generate more jobs, produce more power and lead to a higher degree of energy independence than drilling for oil and gas. Offshore wind produces clean and renewable power that helps cut carbon pollution and does not run the risk of a catastrophic oil spill that could threaten fishing, tourism and recreation. I just heard a quick snippet on the news that the windmills off the coast of Delaware and Maryland may not move forward now. Hummmm....
• From the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management: If the entirety of the Atlantic oil supply were drilled, it would only fuel the U.S. for eight months. The Atlantic only contains 3 percent of the U.S.'s estimated oil reserves. They know it and we now know it - so why create a 20-year filthy industry off our coast? You guessed it...it's all about money and big business.
• A BP-size spill in the Atlantic would be catastrophic: The wells to be drilled off the Atlantic Coast would primarily be deep-water wells, the same as the Deepwater Horizon rig. These types of wells inherently carry more risk due to the complicated nature of the operation. The Atlantic is a much more hostile environment than the Gulf of Mexico, making these risky operations even more dangerous. No comment, except this really scares me.
Now let's talk seismic testing:
Before drilling can take place, oil companies must first map the ocean floor and find potential drilling spots via seismic surveys. This process entails firing seismic air guns miles deep into the ocean floor every 10 seconds, 24 hours a day, seven days a week for weeks and even months.
It then records the reflection of the sound waves...which also maims, deafens and kills sea life. The cannon fires sonic bursts 10 times louder than a 747 jet at takeoff - fish and wildlife cannot escape because bursts spread over a 2,500-mile area.
The impacts of seismic testing: The Int'l Whaling Commission found that the mass stranding of over 100 whales in Madagascar was the direct result of seismic surveys.
The deaths of over 900 dolphins and 1,500 sea birds in Peru have been linked to seismic testing as well as the mass stranding of dolphins in New Zealand and the UK. So we are looking at the maiming, deafening, blinding and torturing of fish, mammals and wildlife. Isn't this illegal, not to mention heartbreaking and industry-crushing?
Help protect our oceans by stopping East Coast offshore drilling before it starts. Reach out to Gov. Carney and senators Coons and Carper. Help defend and protect our pristine oceans and beaches while ushering in a clean energy future. Be an advocate demanding justice for local businesses, your community and the reason you moved here in the first place.
Contact www.ActforBays.org (Float for the Coast event, Ocean City, Md. Aug. 18,) go to www.OCEANA.org, www.Earthjustice.org and www.NRDC.org – talk to the folks at MERR to see how you too can help.
Meg Ellacott
Rehoboth Beach
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