Finally, the tides are turning

Last week, I was very happy to get the news that, for the near future at least, the Atlantic Coast will be safe from offshore oil drilling. At last, the tide seems to be turning.

We are turning away from energy policies that rely on fossil fuels that choke our atmosphere, dirty our waters and warm our planet. We are turning away from an energy source that someday will run out. We are finally showing that America can lead the rest of the world into a new century in which we will let science, good stewardship and common sense guide our decisions about how we power our homes, our cars and our factories.

{mosads}We applaud the Obama administration, the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management for listening to the coastal residents, business owners and political leaders all along the Atlantic coast, whose livelihoods and way of life were threatened by the specter of coastal industrialization and oil washing up on their beaches. With a unified voice, more than 100 coastal communities said “no” to offshore oil drilling and seismic blasting in the Atlantic. Their hard work, their passion and their determination has paid off.

This is also a win for democracy. In a political climate marked by cynicism about corporate influence in politics, this shows that speaking out against powerful interests is not a vain pursuit. With this decision, coastal communities have won a ‘David vs. Goliath’ fight against the richest companies on the planet, and that is a cause for tremendous optimism for the well-being of future generations.

We have heard words from Obama about the need to address climate change. Last week, we saw him turn those words into action.

The Paris Agreement was a promising step, and it is gratifying to see our leaders showing the world that we can do more than make empty promises. We are taking concrete steps to begin the shift towards a renewable energy future. We can meet our energy needs through technologies like solar and offshore wind; we need to make an active effort to make that happen.  And that means turning away from business-as-usual when it comes to fossil fuel production, exactly as the president did last week.

Research has demonstrated that there is incredible potential for job growth and innovation in the renewable energy sector, far more than there is with continued reliance on the fossil fuel industry. The fact that oil companies take ever greater risks to chase ever smaller amounts of oil is proof that this is an industry on its way out. Renewable energy is the way of the future, and the U.S. can either lead or follow. With this announcement, Obama showed us how we are going to lead. 

This is a wonderful win for the oceans. Those of us who have been fighting to keep the Atlantic free of oil rigs return often to the devastating example of the BP Deepwater Horizon. I was in the Gulf after the explosion and the disastrous spill. I saw dolphins swimming in oil. I saw once-clear marshes turning black. I saw the fishing boats heading out to sea, outfitted for cleaning up oil, instead of catching fish. Where we drill, we spill, and once we spill, there is no going back. Oil, and the chemicals used in its clean up, can forever alter ecosystems in ways we are just beginning to understand.

When you see the face of a person who realizes that their world is forever different, that they will never get their way of life back, it stays with you. I saw that look on the faces of Gulf residents after the BP spill. Now, when I take my nieces and nephews to the beach, one of my favorite things to do, I can delight in that look of joy on their faces when they leap into the waves. Now, I can appreciate their smiles, knowing that tar balls and oil-soaked seabirds will not extinguish their happiness. Today, their ocean—our ocean – is safe.  

Congratulations to the Obama administration for making the right choice. Congratulations to the volunteers and advocates who worked tirelessly to get the voices from the coastal communities into the halls of Washington. Last week, those voices were heard.

Savitz is the Vice President for U.S. Oceans at Oceana, the largest international advocacy group working solely to protect the world’s oceans.