May 4, 2010

Eleven human deaths. [1] Dead sea turtles and fish washed ashore. [2] Whales swimming through oily, toxic waters, [3] poisoned as they surface for air. [4] And potentially billions of dollars lost to already-struggling fishing- and tourism-dependent communities along the Gulf Coast. [5]

We’ve seen enough. It’s time to act.

Take Action

Defenders of Wildlife is calling on President Obama to reinstate the ban on dangerous, dirt new drilling off our coasts, but we need your help!

Please visit http://action.defenders.org/nomorespills and urge President Obama to reinstate the ban on drilling for offshore oil and gas deposits off our coasts and revoke Shell Oil’s permits to drill in Alaska’s Beaufort and Chukchi Seas this summer.

At least 400 wildlife species (not counting micro-organisms) and 19 essential wildlife refuges – one of which hosted some 34,000 birds just days before the spill – are already threatened by the Gulf spill. [6]

And the remnants of the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil drilling operation continue to spew at least 5,000 barrels (more than 200,000 gallons) of toxic oil into the Gulf of Mexico each day… with no end in sight. [7]

President Obama – who just weeks ago called for more offshore drilling – has issued a temporary halt to drilling activities in new areas in the wake of the Deepwater disaster, granting a temporary reprieve to sensitive areas like North Carolina’s Outer Banks and the only known calving grounds for the North Atlantic right whales off the coast of Georgia and Florida.

But the President has not yet said that he’ll stop drilling activities planned for this summer in Alaska’s pristine Chukchi and Beaufort Seas – home to polar bears, walrus, and bowhead whales.

Worse, Big Oil and their political allies are tenacious, well-funded and committed to industrializing our coasts… even at the cost of another ecological disaster. As the Gulf Coast crisis continues to grow, drilling proponents like former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin (who should know better!) continued the call for more offshore drilling. [8]

Since yesterday, more than 43,000 caring people have already urged the president to reinstate the ban on harmful new drilling. But to protect our coastal wildlife and communities, we need every person who cares aboutprotecting our wildlife from the next drilling disaster to raise their voice and join our fight.