Dear NRDC Activist,

The Trump administration just announced its latest giveaway of our public lands and waters to corporate polluters … a proposal to sell off over a billion acres of our ocean from the coast of California, to Alaska, to Florida and the Gulf.

WHAT’S HAPPENING
This plan maps out where polluters will be allowed to drill off our shores, reportedly to “meet America’s energy needs.” The Biden administration issued an offshore drilling plan last year, so there’s no need for a new plan — this administration is merely issuing a replacement to dramatically expand Big Oil’s access to our ocean.

Not only that, but Congress has already mandated an unprecedented 36 offshore oil and gas lease sales be held over the next 15 years. There is no need for even more lease sales.

But before they can take another step, the administration must collect public comments on this dangerous scheme. So we need your help to mobilize a massive coast-to-coast outcry:

Tell the Trump administration you oppose selling off our coasts to the highest bidder for more oil and gas drilling we don’t need!

WHY IT MATTERS
The proposal would open up untouched waters of Alaska to drilling, attempt to resurrect the offshore oil and gas industry in California, and offer up waters off the coast of Florida that haven’t been put up for leasing in decades — in addition to even more leasing in the Gulf of Mexico. This plan would damage these places, and the wildlife and people who rely on them, for generations.

Instead of embracing a clean energy future, this administration is doubling down on oil and gas, locking us into decades of future greenhouse gas emissions.

Submit your public comment right away to protect our waters from drilling.

WHAT’S AT STAKE
Oil and gas drilling feeds the refineries that expose communities to harmful pollution that can lead to health issues like asthma, cardiovascular disease, and cancers. Increased fossil fuel development also drives more climate change-fueled extreme weather events.

Offshore oil and gas development threatens endangered whales like beluga whales in Alaska’s Cook Inlet and Rice’s whales in the Gulf. And authorizing exploration and drilling in the Pacific could inflict immense harm on blue, humpback, and fin whales, as well as famous West Coast gray whales, which are already in a state of precipitous decline.

Coastal communities and economies are too valuable to put at risk of oil spills and other offshore drilling impacts. Fishermen are especially hit hard whenever there is an oil spill: After the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, the Gulf of Mexico commercial fishing industry lost around $247 million and thousands of jobs.

WHAT WE ARE DOING
NRDC is fighting back in court on multiple fronts — along with other environmental organizations, we just filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the Trump administration’s decision to hold the first of the 36 offshore lease sales mandated by this past year’s budget bill, which would open 80 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico to drilling. And earlier this year, NRDC and our partners sued the administration over an executive order that would illegally open more than 625 million acres of U.S. waters to offshore oil and gas drilling.

Once the administration finalizes this dangerous drilling plan, NRDC will use every appropriate tool to defend our offshore waters. Our lawyers stand ready.

As we hold the line against the administration in court, we need NRDC supporters like you to submit public comments against this dangerous proposal to show the administration we won’t let them get away with jeopardizing our waters for the sake of polluter profits.

Public comments are critical to build the best case possible against this disastrous plan — they create a public record demonstrating broad support for our waters, and they can give NRDC legal standing to challenge federal agencies if they disregard your input.

Make your voice heard now opposing the Trump administration’s plan to open up our waters to oil and gas drilling.

Sincerely,

Valerie Cleland
Senior Manager, Ocean Energy, Nature, NRDC