The government needs to take action immediately to stop offshore drilling!

Huge profits are earned by fossil fuel companies while pumping oil and in the process pollute water and air. When oil is spilled, the coastlines take a massive hit, as is seen in Southern California right now. There has been a long history of oil disasters. No state or federal plan is there for the transition from fossil fuel economy. Federal action is needed to shut down offshore oil drilling and stop extraction altogether.

Liquid petroleum hydrocarbon is released by an oil spill due to human activity in the marine ecosystem. Oil spill referees to marine oil spills where oil is released in the coastal water or ocean. But spills may occur on land as well. When oil is drilled, it is a spill. No amount of safeguards from oil companies and regulators can fix this. In the next three months, the owner of Amplify Energy offshore oil pipeline has plans to start new drilling in the same area. The pipeline has already leaked more than 140,000 gallons of crude oil in Southern California’s coastal waters.

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Oil companies get permission to drill and transport oil and in return, they promise to operate safely. But they fail in this. Till now there is no way to prevent the risk of catastrophic spills. If drilling is stopped then oil disasters can be prevented. To challenge oil companies public has no option. These oil companies have a history of safety and environmental violations that directly affect people’s lives.

In California, most offshore drilling infrastructure is at least four decades old. No proper plan is there to change the old pipeline.  The latest oil spill in California is the most visible impact of oil drilling on the environment. The spilling of oil ultimately hampers the ecosystem and marine life. It can be seen dead fish washing up, oiled birds collapsing on the shoreline, beaches emptied of surfers, swimmers, etc. The cost of damage the agencies will try to calculate, but they will not account for all of it. Amplify’s spilled oil has already traveled about 50 miles.

The question that arises here is why one industry’s profits are being prioritized over the health and safety of all.  In the US everyday oil from California offshore waters up only one-tenth of 1 percent of all the oil pumps.  It is not only on the coast, but it’s everywhere. Dangerous operation of fossil fuel operations can be seen everywhere.

Activists have been demanding to regulate oil drilling, but the state has been prolonged to respond. There is a well-documented impact of air pollution that affects people living nearby. In April, California Gov. Gavin Newsom called for new protections, but the responsible state agency has missed every deadline, and no new protections have been enacted.

Inaction adds up to a significant loss for the U.S. People are affected badly by the increasingly severe impacts of climate change. The government needs to take action immediately to stop offshore drilling and prevent the next tragedy in coastal waters. Future generations will be impacted by the decision the government makes now.