14 Senators Ask President Obama to Protect Arctic, Atlantic from Future Oil and Gas Leasing

WASHINGTON – A group of 14 Democratic senators sent a letter to President Obama today asking him to permanently protect the Arctic and Atlantic oceans from oil and gas drilling.

The following is a statement by Rhea Suh, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council:

“Climate change demands we change priorities. We don’t get oil or gas from U.S. Arctic waters, and it’s been decades since anyone has tried getting it from the Atlantic. Opening up new ocean areas to drilling now would lock future generations into all the hazards and harms fossil fuels bring. It’s time to permanently protect these oceans and our climate for future generations. We should invest our public resources in clean energy that cuts pollution and creates jobs.”

###

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 2 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City; Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles; San Francisco; Chicago; Bozeman, Montana; and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.

Related Issues
Ocean Climate Change

Related Press Releases

Skip carousel items

Biden Administration Five Year Offshore Oil & Gas Plan is “Lose‑Lose”

Press ReleaseUnited States
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management today proposed as many as 11 potential offshore leases for oil and gas companies in public waters in the Gulf of Mexico and possibly Alaska for the…

On Ocean Day at COP26, Blue Leaders Call for Major Ocean Protections

Press ReleaseInternational
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND – During ocean day at COP26, a broad coalition of government leaders and ocean advocates known as Blue Leaders today called for immediate action by heads of state to protect the world’s vast ocean and its precious biodiversity…

NRDC Statement on Introduction of MSA Reauthorization Bill

Press ReleaseUnited States
WASHINGTON — U.S. Representative Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael), chair of the House Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife, and U.S. Representative Ed Case (Hawaii's 1st District) introduced a bill today to reauthorize the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.