Illustrated letter from Laura Honda's "Green Team" 4th-6th graders
Last Thursday was the final public hearing on the 5 year Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) leasing program. While this was the last chance to stand up in public to express yourself about the program, it is not the last chance to comment, as Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has opened up the public comment period to September 20. (See below for instructions.)
Secretary Salazar was handed the parting gift that the previous administration handed to the oil men – in the form of an oil field leasing program for our coastal oceans that presupposed the continued exploitation of petroleum as our national energy strategy for the future.
Fortunately Secretary Salazar was able to put that assumption on “pause” so he could take in the opinions of the public on this critical issue.
Part of extending the comment period involved staging four public hearings on each of the coasts that would be affected by offshore oil production. The first hearing was in New Jersey, the second in New Orleans, the third in Alaska, and the fourth in San Francisco.
All of the hearings were very well attended. A majority of the public – including elected officials – were more supportive of alternative energy uses of the OCS over oil and gas. This included the hearings in New Orleans, where the public is familiar with what the oil economy brings. About 30% of the public in New Orleans was in favor of oil and gas development. In the other locations the public was predominantly against new fossil fuel development.
Many of the oil folks were complaining that the hearings were loaded against them; with hundreds of conservationists dressed as polar bears, otters and dolphins creating a carnival atmosphere outside of the hearings, and the public presentations mostly against oil drilling. But as the proponents had the same opportunities to express their opinions that everyone else had, this argument is a bit specious.
In the context of this setting, it seemed as if the oil proponents are “against the ropes” on this issue. Most of them couched their presentations within the understanding that solar, wind, and wave energy were going to be the future of our national energy policy. Even Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, the “Duchess of Drill Baby Drill,” stated that oil extraction would need to be done in environmentally sound manner to be acceptable.
The hearings were a clear expression of the public sentiment on the oil economy. I deeply respect Secretary Salazar and his staff for sitting though four days of the same few arguments recited over and over again by both sides of the issue, with the only distinction being how well the presenters handled the microphone.
There were hundreds of folks entering comments in all locations, so actual delivered comments were based on “the luck of the draw.” I got up really early to register so I was able to put in my 3 minutes on the potential dangers of seafloor processing noise. My presentation was a summary of our letter, which I also submitted:
http://ocr.org/literature/letters/Secretary_Ken_Salazar_April_14_OCS_comments.pdf
I also submitted a package of letters from Laura Honda’s Manor School “Green Team.” The package came to me last week just in time and contained about 30 beautifully illustrated appeals for conservation. While I’d love to share every one, the summary letter really gets to the point:
http://ocr.org/literature/letters/Laura_Honda_Green_Team_OCS-Comments.pdf
The “clincher” is on the second page.
If you want to submit your own letter, you can take cues from these letters, or write your own vers libre on your concerns about drilling for oil, continuing with our oil-based economy, or your concerns about the impacts of offshore wind and wave power.
To get more informed about the entire program, see the Interior website here:
Instructions for submitting comments are here:
http://www.mms.gov/5-year/2010-2015DPPComments.htm
I have faith that Secretary Salazar will use his wisdom to sort out a cogent and forward-looking energy strategy from the hearings and from your comments.