For Immediate Release
Contact: Megan Steele, Sierra Club NJ Chapter, megan.steele@sierraclub.org
ASBURY PARK, NJ -- Congressman Pallone has reintroduced the Clean Ocean and Safe Tourism (COAST) Anti-Drilling Act. This legislation would ban oil and gas exploration, development, and production in the Atlantic Ocean.
“We support Congressman Pallone’s work to once again kill the drill. This COAST Anti-Drilling Act is critical to protect the Jersey Shore. Offshore drilling would lead to increased climate impacts while polluting our air and waterways. The oil would be taken to refineries in our area, further putting us at risk,” said Rich Isaac, Chair, Sierra Club New Jersey Chapter.
Sierra Club’s Don’t Rig Our Coastal Economy report found that New Jersey’s coastal tourism industry supports nearly 500,000 jobs, and one out of every six of the state’s jobs are linked in some form to its shoreline. Visits to the area generate $16.6 billion in wages and add $5.5 billion to the state’s tax coffers.
“This legislation is important because drilling anywhere in the mid-Atlantic would directly put our coasts at risk. Even a spill near Virginia would find its way to our shores. Any size spill could be catastrophic because just one quart of oil has the potential to pollute a million gallons of water,” said Taylor McFarland, Chapter Coordinator, Sierra Club New Jersey Chapter. “We need to protect our coast from offshore drilling. The potential for even a little bit of oil could jeopardize our coast, our multi-billion dollar fishing industry, and our tourism industry.”
Instead of offshore drilling, we need safe and renewable energy like wind power. The federal government has auctioned leases of parcels off New Jersey’s coast for the development of offshore wind. Now these developers will have to be threatened by offshore drilling.
“The US DOE’s Brookhaven National Laboratory recently announced a breakthrough regarding lithium metal battery electrolytes. This will help develop smaller, lighter, and less expensive batteries for electric vehicles. Couple this with announcements by major auto manufacturers to switch to electric vehicles, it appears we no longer need to develop more oil resources, especially off of New Jersey’s coast,” said Greg Gorman, Conservation Chair, Sierra Club New Jersey Chapter.