Statement of Mike Gravitz, Environment America Oceans Advocate
“We are pleased that the U.S. Senate voted today to protect our sensitive coasts, oceans, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Western open spaces and wildlife by defeating the McConnell energy amendment to the flood insurance reauthorization bill. Fifty-six senators voted No (versus 42 Yea) to defeat this “drill anywhere and everywhere” legislation. In doing so, they refused to allow the excuse of high energy prices to force the country down the path of continued reliance on destructive oil drilling and dirty fuels like oil shale and liquid coal.
With skyrocketing prices at the pump and the looming threat of global warming, America needs a bright new energy future based on saving oil and clean, renewable technologies like wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal energy. These are the technologies and policies that will help us address the issues of global warming, energy independence, and building a stronger economy with green jobs. The Senate wisely rejected the backwards-looking approach of Sens. McConnell and Domenici which would have continued our addiction to oil, encouraged the use of highly polluting coal to liquid technology, opened huge areas of Western lands to oil shale development, and opened our oceans and coasts to the oil drilling.
This victory comes on the heels of another recent environmental win in the Senate on bad energy policy. Exactly two months ago today, the Vitter amendment (#4207 to Senate Concurrent Resolution 70) was defeated by a much closer vote of 51 to 47. The Vitter amendment would have ended the offshore drilling moratorium of more than 25 years and opened our coasts to drilling.
We applaud Senate leadership and the senators who voted against the McConnell amendment for taking decisive action to protect the environment and set the nation on a new course for energy policy. Now it’s imperative to put a down payment on a clean energy future by extending the clean energy tax incentives that are being blocked by Big Oil and its allies.”
