- Today, Sen. Joe Lieberman said provisions to expand offshore oil and gas drilling will remain in a draft Senate climate and energy bill he has coauthored with Sens. John Kerry and Lindsey Graham.
- Sen. Lieberman said of the Gulf spill, "I mean, accidents happen. You learn from them and you try to make sure they don't happen again." He said the draft bill would allow drilling as close as 75 miles from U.S. coastline.
- Oil continues to gush unabated into the Gulf of Mexico from the site of the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion, already hitting the shores of Louisiana and Mississippi.
The following is a statement from Rodger Schlickeisen, Former president and CEO of Defenders of Wildlife:
"The lesson we must take away from the ongoing tragedy in the Gulf is that offshore oil and gas drilling is not safe. Just because events of this magnitude don't happen very often doesn't mean we should provide more opportunities for them to take place. Accidents do happen, which is a good reason to hit the brakes, not the gas pedal.
"America must move away from its reliance on dirty and dangerous fossil fuels and instead focus on developing clean, renewable energy sources, as any comprehensive climate and energy legislation should reflect."
Links:
Read more about the impacts that offshore drilling can have on marine wildlife.
For the latest information on the disaster, visit NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration.
For nearly 80 years, Defenders of Wildlife has worked to protect and restore America’s wildlife at risk of extinction, advancing a vision of a future in which wildlife thrives, sustained by broad public support and a resilient network of healthy lands and waters. With a network of more than 2 million supporters, Defenders is an advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard wildlife for generations to come. To learn more, please visit https://defenders.org/newsroom or follow us on Instagram @defendersofwildlife.
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