The Threat:

• Current legislation in congress threatens the ban on offshore oil drilling.
• The Energy Bill proposes incentives for states to open up their coasts for oil and gas development, and provides a way for lawmakers to skirt accountability and avoid a direct vote on the controversial issue.
• Opening our shores to drilling will not lower the cost of gas. If the moratorium were lifted tomorrow, we would not see a drop for at least 20 years.
• The oil and gas industry has California in its sights. The Mendocino coastline ranks as one of the top 5 national targets for Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) development. Additionally, Long Beach and the surrounding metro-politician area are in line to become home to a huge natural gas terminal.

Past Disasters

• The Santa Barbara Blowout of 1969 dumped 4 million gallons of oil along 125 miles of Southern California's most treasured beaches.
• On March 24, 1989 the Exxon Valdez struck Alaska's Bligh Reef, spilling 11 million gallons of oil along 1,200 miles of untouched coastline. The toll in dead wildlife was staggering, and oil from this accident can still be found along the cobblestone beaches.
• Other incidents such as 1980's blowout in the Bay of Campeche and 1985's Texas Ranger explosion demonstrate the catastrophic ecological impacts, and our inability to mediate them.

Environmental Impacts

• OCS oil and gas drilling causes destruction of coastal salt marshes and pollution of ocean waters. Toxins contained in mud and water impacted drilling include: mercury, lead, cadmium, benzene, arsenic, lead, naphthalene, zinc and toluene, as well as varying amounts of radioactive pollutants.1
• Other environmental and health effects include: the release of some 50 tons of nitrogen oxides (Nox), 13 tons of carbon dioxide, 6 tons of sulfur dioxide, and 5 tons of volatile organic hydrocarbons. And that's just from average exploration and subsequent annual release from each OCS platform.2
• According to the Department of the Interior, some 3 million gallons of oil spilled from OCS oil and gas operations in 73 incidents between 1980 and 1999.

The Solution: