Guest commentary
To stimulate discussion and debate, Coastal Review welcomes differing viewpoints on topical coastal issues.
As one of his final acts in office, former President Joe Biden announced a permanent ban on offshore drilling in United States waters. The action protects 625 million acres of ocean from new offshore oil and gas leasing — stretching from Alaska’s Bering Sea and the Pacific Coast to the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and the Atlantic Coast.
Supporter Spotlight
Offshore drilling is costly, dirty, and poses a serious risk to coastal communities and states that rely on tourism and commercial fishing industries.
President Donald Trump acted quickly to revoke these protections in one of the dozens of executive orders he issued on his first day in office. His actions are in keeping with his campaign promise to “drill, baby, drill,” catering to the oil and gas companies eager to tap into fossil fuel reserves on public lands despite the harm to people and the environment. But many Americans oppose offshore drilling — and the unacceptable risks it poses to our coasts, communities, and climate — and President Trump’s executive order will face pushback from environmental advocates and local leaders.
North Carolina’s coastal communities are keenly aware of the risk that comes with selling off public waters to private industries. In 2015, over 60 coastal cities and towns in North Carolina passed resolutions opposing offshore drilling to the Obama administration’s proposal to open the south Atlantic to oil and gas development. Local leaders understood then – as they do today – the real cost of having big oil companies dropping anchor along their shores. Commercial fisheries and shipping ports keep the saltwater economy moving along the Outer Banks. The state’s tourism industry is crucial to local economies, with travelers spending $35 billion every year.
In short, coastal communities aren’t willing to pay the price for selling our oceans to the highest bidder.
This also isn’t the first time that President Trump has attempted to undo measures protecting our ocean from oil and gas development. In his first term, he tried to undo similar protections put in place by the Obama administration. But a federal judge ruled that Trump’s 2017 executive order violated the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) and reinstated the Obama-era protections.
Supporter Spotlight
While President Trump has been quick to sign off a flurry of executive orders, his actions still must follow the laws enacted by Congress.
The Trump administration’s actions make it clear that they are out of touch with community interests, concerns about climate change and the need to protect our natural resources.
We cannot afford to sell off our oceans at the expense of our people and our planet.
Opinions expressed by the authors are not necessarily those of Coastal Review or our publisher, the North Carolina Coastal Federation. See our guidelines for submitting guest columns.
