54.8 F
Wrightsville Beach
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Our thoughts

Must read

Say no to drilling, seismic testing

Wilmington became the 16th and most recent North Carolina community to go on record opposing seismic testing and offshore drilling for oil and gas. The unanimous vote by the city council last week in support of the anti-drilling resolution sends a strong message: An overwhelming number of coastal residents reject the potential environmental risks that come with offshore energy exploration.

But Gov. Pat McCrory and the General Assembly don’t want to hear it. McCrory is chairman of the Outer Shelf Governors Coalition, which has practically donned cheerleader outfits and raised pompoms to advance oil-industry efforts to open the Atlantic Ocean to drilling. Likewise, the federal government and President Barack Obama support offshore energy exploration via seismic testing, which uses powerful air guns to detect the presence of oil or natural gas beneath the ocean floor.

McCrory would allow drilling within 30 miles of the coastline. For comparison, BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig was 40 to 45 miles off the Louisiana coast when it exploded in 2010, killing 11 workers and spilling at least 3.1 million barrels — more than 130 million gallons — into the Gulf of Mexico. The federal government estimated as much as 4.9 million barrels spilled, causing extensive environmental and economic damage, some of which still lingers.

Industry supporters downplay the chance that something similar could occur here.

Can we afford to take that chance?

Even seismic testing for the presence of petroleum resources is controversial because of fears that it may harm or confuse treasured migratory marine animals.

At the same time the state is pushing offshore drilling and, in the inland areas, fracking, the General Assembly has been less than supportive of North Carolina’s growing alternative-energy industries, particularly solar and wind power. All the while, the state has been a national leader in putting solar power into practical use and in creating “green” jobs that represent the future of the energy industry.

Efforts to kill tax credits and rules that have encouraged development of alternative energy are short-sighted. Alternative energy is an economic opportunity; North Carolina can either get on board, or be left behind.

With oil and gas prices relatively low, petroleum companies may have little immediate incentive to engage in what promises to be an expensive extraction process offshore. But several companies have already expressed an interest in seismic testing now that the federal government has given the green light.

With the Wilmington City Council’s passage last week of a resolution opposing seismic testing and offshore drilling, Kure Beach remains the lone New Hanover County holdout. In late 2013, Mayor Dean Lambeth angered everybody but big oil by signing a lobbyist-generated letter supporting seismic testing off the coast. Since then, the town council has declined to take a formal position.

Supporters and the petroleum industry trumpet potential windfalls for states and coastal communities in the form of jobs and revenue sharing. But the latter must be negotiated, and state law as written does not provide for local governments to receive a share of any revenue from offshore energy.

Each year millions of visitors flock to the North Carolina coast. Commercial and recreational fishing boats depend on the ocean for their livelihood, as does the tourist industry. Our state’s coastline has thus far been spared the type of environmental damage that Louisiana suffered.

There is too much at risk to sanction an activity that could result in a similar catastrophe here.

Previous article
Next article
- Advertisement -spot_img

More articles

- Advertisement -spot_img

Latest articles