Gov. Schwarzenegger joined Environment California, Florida
PIRG and the Sierra Club in urging the U.S. Senate to vote against any legislation
that would threaten our coast and increase oil and gas drilling.
“Passage of drilling legislation will put our coast at
risk,” said Dan Jacobson, legislative director for Environment California. “Offshore
drilling is the dirtiest, slowest and most expensive way to bring energy to our
state and country.”
The Senate bill would allow drilling in Lease Area 181, a
portion of the eastern Gulf of Mexico south of Florida's
Panhandle.
The governor, the two California senators and other elected
officials are concerned that if the Senate bill passes, it will be merged with much
the much more restrictive House version of this legislation (HR 4761) authored
by U.S. Rep. Richard Pombo (Tracy, CA).
The Congressman has already stated his belief that the Senate
bill should be more like the House bill, which would allow drilling within 50
miles of the coast and forces each state to pass resolutions every five years
to keep drilling off the coast.
“Oil and gas companies are fighting in Congress to open our
coast to drilling,” said Jacobson. “We can either have a coast that is littered
with oil rigs or we can move toward clean energy.”
