Governor of California calls on Obama to ban future oil and gas drilling Posted on 20 D

Governor Brown called on President Obama to use his authority to permanently prohibit new offshore oil and gas leasing in federal waters off the coast of California. In a letter sent to President Obama, Governor Brown called on the administration to use its authority under Section 12(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to permanently withdraw federal waters off the coast of California from new offshore oil and gas leasing and guarantee that future oil and gas drilling in these waters is prohibited. Governor Brown conveyed in the letter that the protection of California’s ocean waters and beaches overrides the need for new oil and gas reserves. “Clearly, large new oil and gas reserves would be inconsistent with our overriding imperative to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and combat the devastating impacts of climate change,” he wrote. “Now is the time to make permanent the protection of our ocean waters and beaches from new oil and gas drilling.”  Speaking at a recent meeting of the International Alliance to Combat Ocean Acidification in which he joined global leaders to launch, Governor Brown said his state was taking steps to prevent further coastal oil and gas drilling.In addition to signing the MOU, Governor Brown has joined a number of other US governors to launch the International Alliance to Combat Ocean Acidification –  a new partnership of jurisdictions around the world committed to protecting coastal communities and economies from the threat of rising ocean acidity...more.more
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