Plan to Drill for Oil and Gas Off Mid-Atlantic Coast

[LuckyLady]

This was a email sent to me and I'm just coping it over for you all to read.



Give Thanks to the Ocean and Help Protect It by Taking Action NOW!
Plan to Drill for Oil and Gas Off Mid-Atlantic Coast
Proposed Federal Plan Rolls Back 25 Years of Ocean Protection


Gigantic industrial facilities in the ocean, a short distance from shore?

Oil-soaked shores in New Jersey and New York?

Pollutants and contaminants in fish?

Stranded whales and dolphins?

The collapse of NJ and NY’s tourism and fishing industries?



You can say NO to these by saying NO to oil and gas drilling off the Mid-Atlantic coast. Citizens and organizations are urged to rally in opposition to an ocean-drilling plan that threatens our environment, economy, and quality of life.



A proposed federal 5-year plan (for 2007-2012) includes a threat to drill for oil and gas off the coast of Virginia, less than 75 miles from the New Jersey coastline. The United States Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) is accepting public comments on their proposed 5-year oil and gas leasing program and draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).



What MMS is NOT telling you:

· Drilling off Virginia puts NY and NJ’s coastal waters and marine life in harm’s way; the Gulf Stream, currents, and winds will bring pollution from drilling activities north to this region.

· Excessive amounts of waste and debris are routinely dumped during exploration and drilling activities.

· Seismic surveys performed for drilling are harmful to marine mammals, such as the Right Whale – one of the most endangered animals on Earth!

· Using expected national consumption rates in 2030 (the year production is expected to begin if this plan gets approved), the proposed lease area off Virginia contains only enough recoverable oil to last between 1.8 and 2.9 days for the nation, and only enough natural gas to last between 3.4 to 6.8 days!



The MMS admits that the Mid-Atlantic region supports the highest amount of phytoplankton – the base of the oceanic food web. Still, MMS wants to drill in an area that contains the smallest amount of oil and gas in all its planning areas. Also, the waters off New Jersey and New York are home to more than 300 species of fish, nearly 350 species of birds, 7 species of sea turtles, and many marine mammals, such as 10 species of whales and several species of seals and porpoises, frequent this region.





What’s the alternative?

The ultimate resource and solution to reduce our dependency on oil is energy conservation and efficiency. Drive less, invest in “green” or renewable energies, and use energy efficient products, among other actions.





You Can Help Stop This Threat! It’s Easy…

Write comments demanding MMS to remove the area off the coast of Virginia from their proposed 5-year oil and gas leasing plan. Send your comments to MMS by Friday, November 24, 2006 (the day after Thanksgiving).



As you gather for the Thanksgiving holiday, tell your friends and family about this threat to the ocean and urge them to send their comments!



To submit electronic comments to MMS, go to

http://ocsconnect.mms.gov/pcs-public...011f80800d06e8

and in center of the page click “Submit Comment.”



To submit comments by mail, send them to: Renee Orr, 5-year Program Manager, 381 Elden Street, MS 4010, Herndon, VA 20170.





Help Protect the Ocean and Say NO to Offshore Oil & Gas Drilling


This was a email sent to me and I'm just coping it over for you all to read.

[bigg09]

I FOR ONE AM CAUTIOUS AS EVERYONE SHOULD BE WHEN THERE IS TALK OF EXPLORATORY OFFSHORE DRILLING; HOWEVER, I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE SOME OF THOSE RIGS THE GULF COAST ENJOYS!!! WHAT A DYNAMIC FISHERY THEY HAVE DUE TO TEH RIGS AND WELLS.

BTW, WHY DON'T YOU POST A REPORT BEFORE YOU START PUSHING AN AGENDA ON YOUR 2ND POST!!!

CASEY
RECREATIONAL FISHERMAN OUT OF VIRGINIA BEACH

[Bert Rodgers]

It has been done safely and cleanly for decades in the gulf and elsewhere.
There is no reason to believe any new rigs wouldn't be the most advanced and safest ever built. I say go for it. Structure= Fish

Everyone will cry and scream that we are too dependant on foriegn oil but every time someone proposes doing something meaningful about it, the Chicken Littles start squaking.

Bert

[jdkliesing]

Not to step on your toes luckylady, but I fish the Gulf of Mexico out of Matagorda and those rigs are a fishermans paradise you can troll around them and pick up billfish all day blues,stripes and sails . Not to mention snapper, grouper, kings, lings, barracuda, shark, tuna, blue fish and a ton of bait. There's also a tasty critter down there that's not spoken to much about and not many people knew they were even in the gulf at the anormous quanity they are. Those rigs are busting with marine life I mean exploding if you ever get the chance to fish around one you will see it doesnt kill, it gives life and alot of it.

[Cowboy]

WOW glad this was brought to my attention, I want to look into this and support the drilling. I think its great that we are going to try to be more self supporting in this country and drill our own oil and yes those rigs would make great fishing. The jobs produced would be very welcome and there is probably about as much danger of destruction as if we continue to let the .....Oh fuck-it where do a sign the petetion to get this drilling started?

[anthony]

I for one would like to know a little about Luckylady before she starts pushing her agenda on here. If Virginians aren't up at arms over this, then why are the folks from New Jersey and New York? Heck, we've had to deal with your dumping of medical supplies and garbage in the ocean for years.

[Squidnation]

Sounds good to me. While your at it how about some windmills as well. More domestic energy and more structure to fish.

[fishskipper]

I think these rigs would be GREAT for us all. And by the way right whales are on the endangered list due to collisions with ships NOT pollution. Lucky Lady listen to what these people say about the rigs in the gulf. Hmmm Habitat, more fish and crustaceans(shrimp).. Makes sense to me...Shrimp is part of the diet for right whales...... I can tell you that the navy directional towers in my area hold a lot of life... We need more structure. I think we all may want the same thing here, but I vote for these rigs to be built for more life in the sea. Not only for that, but for independence from foreign countries to be able to provide fuel for our own country. As far as the polution, there are a lot of safety and environmental hoops to jump through for the oil companies, just to operate!
Now if you are really concerned about the pollution and the whales you should seek legislation for heavy fines from these oil companies for failure to comply with any regulations. This money could be used to make the studies about pollution and marine life. Then everyone would win!

Capt. Ron
www.littlejeanniesportfishing.com

[capt. woodward]

I've been living on and working near these rigs nearly half of my life. On the "rare" occasion when there's an accident, it brings out all the boo-birds.

Then starts the whining and crying about ruining the environment. These are the same crybabies who complain to the Public Service boards about overhead electric wires, telephone poles in their backyards and generally drive everyone nutzo with trying to get their referendums on the ballot.

I have no sympathy for people like them. They are one of the reason why you have no energy policy. They are against everything that would make your country self sufficient.

This one is on my ignore list.

[Twotems]

Ditto to all that was said above. It'll also prevent commercial fishermen from scraping everything off the bottom of the ocean due to more restricted fishing areas around the platforms.