@ReedAShelton
United States President Barack Obama has put forward a plan to open a stretch of Atlantic waters along the East Coast to leasing by oil and natural gas companies, a move criticized by environmental activists and former Maryland Governor and fellow Democratic Party member Martin O’Malley.
The plan proposed on Jan. 27 includes multiple lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico, on the Alaskan Coast and along a stretch of the Atlantic coast from Virginia to Georgia.
Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell has called the plan a safe and responsible development that would both support American jobs and reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil.
“This is a balanced proposal that would make available nearly 80 percent of the undiscovered technically recoverable resources,” Jewell said.
However, adjunct lecturer in Salisbury University’s environmental studies program Bill Nelson sees an inherent risk in opening new areas to oil and natural gas companies, citing potential human error as the deciding factor.
"We've seen what happened in the Gulf with Deepwater Horizon and with Exxon Valdez before that, so to my mind if we allow drilling off the coast we're going to have to deal with significant spills,” Nelson said. “It's not a matter of technology being better or safer, it's going to happen. It's not if, but when. No matter what, people always make mistakes.”
Read the full article in the 2/24/15 print edition of The Flyer