At a news conference today, Department of Interior
Secretary Ken Salazar announced that the department would extend the public
comment period on the draft five year plan for oil and gas development that the
Bush administration put in place in its last days in office. Environment
Georgia’s Jennette Gayer issued the
following statement in response:
“We applaud the Interior Department for taking a fresh
look a President Bush’s ‘drill everywhere’ policies. First, last week,
Secretary Salazar prudently restored protection for 130,000 acres of pristine
lands near Nine Mile Canyon, Arches National Park and Dinosaur National Monument
in Utah that had been leased for drilling by the previous administration.
Today, we are pleased to see that Secretary Salazar is slowing the Bush
administration’s plan to barrel ahead with oil drilling off our coast. The fact
is: More efficient vehicles, mass transit, and clean energy will cut pollution
and reduce dependence on oil far more effectively than more oil drilling will.
“Secretary Salazar and President Obama understand that
we must break our addiction to oil by increasing efficiency and shifting to
clean alternatives and, from the first days of this administration, have pursued
exactly those policies. Two weeks ago, the president announced plans to raise
the fuel economy of our cars. His economic recovery plan creates jobs by
improving mass transit, which produces one-third of the pollution of automobile
travel while creating 19 percent more jobs per dollar than spending on new
highways. These cheaper, cleaner and faster policies reduce short-term oil
demand and costs while also providing long-term solutions to our energy needs.
President Obama’s clean energy solutions do not require us to put our favorite
beaches at risk.
“Even the Energy Information Agency under President Bush
acknowledged that drilling for every last drop of recoverable oil off our coasts
would have little to no effect on gas prices. Environment America is confident
that, with careful consideration, the Obama administration will conclude that
drilling offshore is not worth the risk. We urge president Obama to permanently
protect our treasured seashores and marine resources by reinstating the
off-shore oil drilling moratorium.”
