For the first time ever, hundreds of Gulf Coast residents are joining forces with local and national environmental and social justice groups to oppose a federal offshore fossil fuel lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico. The proposed lease of 43m acres in the Gulf of Mexico to develop as much as 965m barrels of oil and 4trn cu ft of natural gas is the largest single offering by the Obama administration. Yesterday, the coalition sent a letter to President Obama requesting the sale’s cancellation as it prepares for an unprecedented March 23 demonstration at the Superdome in New Orleans, where the bids will be announced.
The letter, signed by 47 groups, states that sales of publicly owned fossil fuels contribute significantly to global carbon emissions and counteract the Obama administration’s pledges to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels. Offshore drilling threatens the well-being of Gulf Coast communities and wildlife. Coalition members will also gather at a public hearing on March 17 in New Orleans to oppose the proposed sale of another 47.4m acres in the Central Gulf for oil and gas drilling, scheduled for March 2017.
Fighting new offshore leases in the Gulf of Mexico, long an epicenter of the fossil fuel industry, represents a new front for an environmental movement that has recently focused on stopping offshore drilling in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans. The Obama administration just released its 2017-2022 plan for offshore fossil fuel development, which took the Atlantic off the table but proposed three leases for the Arctic and 10 for the Gulf.
The Superdome rally will build off the momentum of the national Keep It in the Ground movement, which has used direct action to block federal auctions of drilling rights on public lands across the country over the past year. Gulf residents are also demanding the industry create at least 1,000 jobs to address its aging infrastructure and toxic legacy, particularly in communities of color.
“The people in the Gulf Coast are finally waking up to the utter destruction of handing over our Gulf of Mexico to Big Oil. Oil spills, a destroyed coast and seafood in peril is what has come from drilling over the last fifty years,” said Anne Rolfes of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade. “We are making a historic call for no new drilling in our Gulf of Mexico. Like the people of the West Coast and Atlantic Coast, we are standing up for ourselves, our future and the future of this planet.”
