Today the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy launches a new video highlighting the ways that we can drill for clean energy solutions in our region and not for oil. Our video comes out just days after the White House lifted the offshore oil drilling ban put in place in May 2010 as the Deepwater Horizon Gulf oil disaster dumped an estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil for 5 long, tragic months, into waters just 50 miles off Louisiana’s coast. Now the oil industry has yet another green light to resume their high risk drilling endeavors off of our coasts, from what appears to be a premature decision fueled by the impending elections. It would seem that we have yet to learn from the mistakes of the worst environmental disaster in our nation’s history. While it will take decades to truly realize the widespread economic and environmental effects of this disaster, solutions to oil and deepwater drilling are here and ready to use today.
SACE Unveils Southern Solutions to Gulf Oil Drilling Video
The epic Gulf oil disaster did not have to happen. Convinced that there must be an exit strategy out of drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and the Persian Gulf, the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) launched a Clean Energy Gulf Challenge earlier this year. The goal was to solicit ideas from the nation’s brightest minds to explore how our nation can displace the 20% of the oil we consume that comes from the Gulfs. Our new video features the primary paths of reducing our dependence on Gulf oil and offers a fresh perspective to ensure that we learn from the mistakes of such disasters and let it be our crude awakening.
A Four Pronged Path Out of the Gulfs
What emerged from the Gulf Challenge were four clear solutions to get us out of the Gulfs, all of which we have right here in the South and available today. The solutions to Gulf oil drilling include the advancement of biofuel production, more stringent fuel efficiency standards, deployment of hybrid and electric vehicles and changing our personal lifestyle choices. The reality is that only 10% of the oil we consume in this country comes from the Gulf of Mexico and 10% comes from the Persian Gulf. With technologies available today, our nation can easily reduce our consumption by 20% and put an eventual end to drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and importing from hostile nations in the Persian Gulf. With citizen support and political will these technologies will wean us off of our dangerous oil addiction and reduce our dependency on foreign sources.
The Time for a Clean Energy Revolution is Now!
Even before BP’s Deepwater Horizon tragedy ensued, ‘Big Oil’s’ track record with offshore oil drilling was ugly. Offshore operators caused 40 large scale spills (greater than 42,000 gallons) since 1964. These are just the large spills; smaller spills are literally an everyday occurrence. Did the worst environmental disaster is U.S. history prompt citizens to realize the true costs of our dirty and dangerous addiction to oil?
The fact that our elected officials failed to move from this oil spill to an energy bill might lead one to believe that we didn’t learn a thing from this tragedy. On the other hand, in the wake of the BP oil disaster, hundreds of thousands of citizens all around the world held hands on June 26th, 2010 to say no to offshore drilling and yes to a clean energy future. Citizens are demanding action to change the way we produce and consume energy in this country. We have the means to begin making the transition off of oil, but what we lack is the political will.
Please help us make our video go viral. Share our video on facebook, twitter and send to your elected officials.
This is our wake up call. The solutions to ensure that another Gulf of Mexico-type disaster never happens again are right here at our finger tips.