Center director warns about offshore oil development at Labor Day Event
On Labor Day, the Center co-hosted a beachfront event that educated the public about the risks and implications of offshore development.
About forty participated, among them many students who are members of the Student Association for a Green Earth (SAGE) from Georgia Southern
University. The Georgia Chapter of the Sierra Club had done much of the background work to organize the gathering.
The event was prompted by a recent upsurge in concern about environmental impacts of proposed offshore energy exploration and development along
the nation's coastlines. Driven by rising energy prices and ongoing political entanglements related to foreign energy supplies, over the summer
Congress had proposed eliminating a federal ban on offshore oil development adopted in the 1980s.
"Unfortunately, no amount of domestic oil development will allow American to achieve energy independence," Center director David Kyler told the
crowd. "In fact, by the time any oil resources off our shore were located, extracted, refined and available, the U.S. would be consuming so much
more imported oil in proportion to domestic that new supplies could not compensate," he continued Kyler cited studies that find even the most
optimistic estimates of U.S. oil resources fall far short of rapidly rising demand. "The only way for the U.S. to achieve true energy independence
is to move toward more environmentally sustainable sources and technologies, including wind and solar energy."
Kyler also explained that risks of oil spills raise serious questions about the wisdom of offshore development, regardless of the amount of
petroleum fuels made available. "Coastal Georgia's economy is highly dependent on the health, productivity, and diversity of coastal ecosystems -
some 40,000 jobs are derived from our region's nature-based economy. The beaches and marshes you see around you here in Glynn County, as well as
those up and down our coast, could be severely contaminated for long periods if an accident or natural disaster caused oil to enter our coastal
waters."
Wildlife and fisheries, many of tremendous economic value, would also be put in jeopardy. Studies show that coastal Georgia's recreational fishing
alone generates more than $550 million annually in the local economy. "Besides their indisputable economic benefit, our surrounding environment
supports some of the rarest and most threatened species known - including the right whale, several species of sea turtles, and the Florida manatee.
" Bird-watching is also an activity of growing importance in the region. National studies show that birding enthusiasts spend even more than golfers
- a major source of local business revenues.
Kyler closed his comments by encouraging all to voice their concerns about offshore oil among their friends, and to contact district congressman Rep.
Jack Kingston and Georgia Senators Chambliss and Isakson.
Issue Update, December 2005
A recent bill proposes to allow states to determine if the ban on drilling is lifted along their shorelines.
Although this may sound reasonable, an oil spill in the waters of one state could easily end up polluting
the shores of a neighboring state. Even without a catastrophic oil spill, undesirable onshore industrial
development could be induced in one state by being adjacent to a state allowing offshore oil drilling. We
object to any offshore oil development because of the risks to ocean resources and coastlines that must be
protected for all Americans. Moreover, energy made available would be minimal compared with demand. |
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