Don't Risk Coastal Georgia in Quest for Energy
It is disappointing that Georgia U.S. Sens. Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss voted to expose the state's cherished coastline to
the unjustifiable hazards of offshore oil and gas exploration.
In a recent Senate action on energy issues, the two legislators were conspicuously isolated from their colleagues representing
other
Southeastern coastal states when they voted to allow an "inventory" of offshore oil and gas reserves.
"Inventory" in this context is a glibly deceptive word for the aggressive activities used to find offshore energy reserves,
including seismic explosions that are known to harm marine mammals and other sea life. A federal moratorium on offshore drilling
has been in place since the 1980s, but many believe this will be quickly lifted if profitable reserves are revealed by new exploration
just green-lighted by Senate action.
Five fellow Republicans from Florida, South Carolina and North Carolina voted against offshore exploration, preferring to defend their respective
state's coastal residents and tourism businesses that want shorelines protected from eventual oil drilling.
Not only were Chambliss and Isakson isolated by their vote, but several other senators in neighboring states took the opportunity to chastise
the Georgia legislators for their failure to understand the implications of that decision for coastal tourism. U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez,
a Florida Republican, insisted that the so-called inventory would inevitably lead to offshore drilling if any oil is found, despite claims
that the approval was solely for exploration. And another Republican, Sen. Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina, warned that energy exploration
was bad for both tourism and her state.
Any action to move ahead with offshore energy exploration and development must be weighed against the enormous economic value of environmental
resources that would be put in harm's way by these fossil-fuel related activities.
On Georgia's coast alone, at least $1 billion a year in tourism and nature-based business directly depends on a healthy shoreline and productive
fish habitat. Recreational and commercial fishing on Georgia's coast bring in an estimated $600 million annually. World renowned tourist destinations
at Jekyll, St. Simons, Tybee and Sea Island would be especially vulnerable to the economic consequences of environmental hazards linked to energy
activities offshore.
Accidents or equipment malfunctions resulting in offshore oil spills could kill fish, marine mammals, sea birds, sea turtles and other wildlife
(some endangered), while making adjacent beaches and other natural habitat -- including tidal marshes -- severely polluted and unusable for
extended periods.
Cumberland Island National Seashore, Sapelo Island and other largely pristine barrier islands would also suffer substantial harm.
Moreover, emerging energy technology will radically alter the definition of energy independence within the next decade -- by the time any
new offshore resources would be finally available for use.
And in any case, jeopardizing marine and landside coastal resources to get more petroleum is clearly unjustified in the name of energy
independence, because at current growth rates U.S. demand will greatly exceed even the most optimistic estimated domestic oil reserves,
no matter how much more drilling we do.
The only way to achieve true energy independence for our nation is to move as quickly as possible to non-petroleum, safe energy technologies
such as wind, solar and hydrogen, and to implement proven efficiency upgrades in the use of all existing fuels. Unfortunately, no bill that
is likely to be passed by this Congress adequately supports progressive technologies at levels needed to attain responsible energy independence
for our country as soon as possible.
Despite lip-service to energy independence and promising new technologies, powerful corporate profit-makers that exploit conventional fuels
continue to dominate legislative support. Coastal Georgians should voice their concern about such misguided congressional actions, which
persist in helping the few in the name of us all, leaving our region exposed to the downside.
David Kyler is director of the Center for a Sustainable Coast on St. Simons Island.
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