Yes, Yes, and again Yes

Should the government clamp a moratorium on new offshore oil and natural gas drilling? In a word – yes. Yes, this administration should immediately extend the current “suspension” on new offshore oil drilling. Yes, that moratorium should be expanded to include current and planned drilling operations in the Gulf of Mexico – where according to the New York Times, “at least seven new permits for various types of drilling and five environmental waivers have been granted” since President Obama ordered a suspension of new drilling on April 30. Yes, the moratorium should most certainly include the fragile Arctic seas, where Shell still plans to start drilling as early as this July, and the East Coast, parts of which President Obama opened to exploratory drilling earlier this year.

The debate should be over about whether the U.S. should allow offshore oil drilling off America’s coastline. Oil drilling is simply too dirty, and too dangerous, to risk in our waters. The impacts already being seen in the Gulf are having huge impacts on our wildlife resources and the jobs that depend upon them. And these impacts are likely to last for decades, changing the way that Gulf coast residents interact with their beaches and islands, and undermining a way of life for fishermen, charter boat companies, seafood restaurants, and many other businesses throughout the region.

We can’t afford NOT to curb offshore drilling, in fact. Not least because the costs of this disaster will run into the billions, and we can ill-afford another such tragedy elsewhere. But also because allowing more offshore drilling further delays America’s transition to cleaner forms of energy – a transition we must make as soon as possible to reduce the other impacts which dirty fossil fuels have on our nation, from air and water pollution to global climate change.

President Obama should look at the current crisis as an opportunity to speed up America’s move away from toxic oil to clean renewable energy. His first step should be to reinstate, immediately, the presidential moratorium on offshore drilling, and make sure that it includes all our fragile waters – including the fragile Arctic waters that will be imperiled by drilling this summer.

This post originally appeared on National Journal’s Expert Blog.