Thread by @EnvironmentTex

Welcome back! We’re going into the fourth hour of @BOEM’s hearing on its 2023-2028 offshore drilling plan, which includes up to 10 lease sales in the Gulf and one in Alaska. We’re tweeting live to hear why folks are calling in to #ProtectOurCoast & ask for #NoNewLeases.

@BOEM Juliana is from northern NJ, and reminds us that climate change has impacts across the country--like when the NY subway flooded. She calls for #NoNewLeases.

@BOEM Rev. James VanderWeele lives in Louisiana & is here to represent his grandchildren across the U.S.: What will climate change do to them? Will it force them to move?

Every greenhouse gas molecule increases #globalwarming. This is a moral crisis that will impact our grandchildren

@BOEM Joyce reminds us that @BOEM’s science finds that seismic testing needed for offshore drilling can hurt our whales and ocean life. She doesn’t want leases, and BOEM should make sure oil companies are paying the true cost of drilling to the environment.

@BOEM Matt of Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation says his small Florida island has been opposed to drilling for decades. He’s also concerned that @BOEM hasn’t considered the impacts of oil spills on seagrass and the manatees that depend on it.

@BOEM Elida from @ChispaTexas: New Lease sales won’t meet our current energy needs--it will just increase the harms our communities are already experiencing from fossil fuels & climate disasters.

@BOEM @ChispaTexas Melinda is a retired scientist and says deep water drilling is complex, and the risks of a spill can’t be eliminated. Our laws & regulations are moving rapidly towards #renewables--it’s time for @BOEM to do the same.

@BOEM @ChispaTexas Kim from Tallahassee: She grew up in the Gulf and was heartbroken by #DeepwaterHorizon. We don’t have the safeguards to stop oil spills--we can only have contingency plans for our ocean life and coastal communities when there is a spill, not if.

@BOEM @ChispaTexas Frankie Orona from @S_N_N_1 urges @BOEM to end offshore drilling along the Gulf, where communities have higher cancer rates. He wants future generations to have a sustainable future--they’ll bear the brunt of our decisions today.

@BOEM @ChispaTexas @S_N_N_1 Satchel was born & raised in Cook Inlet. From the 1970s-today, Cook Inlet residents have been fighting to keep Cook Inlet’s wildlife & bountiful ecosystem safe from drilling. Satchel wants to live in Cook Inlet for decades-but drilling would put that dream at risk. @Inletkeeper

@BOEM @ChispaTexas @S_N_N_1 @Inletkeeper John, with @wwalswatershed in GA & FL says they have been promoting renewables & opposing drilling. @BOEM should do the same. #NoNewLeases

@BOEM @ChispaTexas @S_N_N_1 @Inletkeeper @wwalswatershed Captain Neil, a charter boat operator in Tampa Bay, FL: For those who were raised along the Gulf coast and who rely on clean water for their lives and businesses, the risk of drilling is one they cannot bare. #ProtectOurCoast

@BOEM @ChispaTexas @S_N_N_1 @Inletkeeper @wwalswatershed Going into hour 6 of this hearing, and we want to give a shout out to @BOEM staff for staying on the line to hear comments!

@BOEM @ChispaTexas @S_N_N_1 @Inletkeeper @wwalswatershed Mary, director of Earth Ethics in the FL panhandle. The #DeepwaterHorizon spill impacted the coasts of all of the Gulf states. Our environment and health have suffered long enough from drilling. #NoNewLeases

@BOEM @ChispaTexas @S_N_N_1 @Inletkeeper @wwalswatershed Marissa is a life-long resident of lower Cook Inlet. After 6 hours, she’s speaking on behalf of her home. As someone who lives with a place, is dependent on the ecosystem here, risking that is incomprehensible.

@BOEM @ChispaTexas @S_N_N_1 @Inletkeeper @wwalswatershed Tim with @greenpeaceusa is calling in from Oakland CA, where they are experiencing a drought, heatwave & fires, and he’s worried the state may be unrecognizable for his kids.

@BOEM @ChispaTexas @S_N_N_1 @Inletkeeper @wwalswatershed @greenpeaceusa Howard is calling in from Gulfport, MS and looking out the window at the Mississippi Sound and Gulf. Climate change, storms & the fact that they are a low lying area all impact his community. We need offshore wind, not drilling.

@BOEM @ChispaTexas @S_N_N_1 @Inletkeeper @wwalswatershed @greenpeaceusa Now, we’re hearing from a oil rig worker about how he’s ready for @BOEM to issue #NoNewLeases. He’s built these projects, and now he’s saying it’s time to transition to #renewables & rebuild our energy system for everyone.

@BOEM @ChispaTexas @S_N_N_1 @Inletkeeper @wwalswatershed @greenpeaceusa Laura fights fracking, and reminds us that offshore drilling results in more methane emissions than onshore drilling.

@BOEM @ChispaTexas @S_N_N_1 @Inletkeeper @wwalswatershed @greenpeaceusa Next, our director @lukemetzger is speaking about why he wants @BOEM to #ProtectOurCoast from drilling.

"My family loves the Gulf of Mexico. We take every chance we can... to swim in the waters of the Gulf. But on the horizon loom the rigs. Let’s not add to their number."

@BOEM @ChispaTexas @S_N_N_1 @Inletkeeper @wwalswatershed @greenpeaceusa @lukemetzger Tanya from Seldovia, AK is an educator and marine ecologist, board of @Inletkeeper. She’s opposed to oil & gas lease sales in Cook Inlet for many reasons. Just one: Cook Inlet’s fish are already facing climate impacts, pollution & disease. #ProtectOurCoast #SaveOurSalmon

@BOEM @ChispaTexas @S_N_N_1 @Inletkeeper @wwalswatershed @greenpeaceusa @lukemetzger Lydia with @S_N_N_1 is talking about how drilling has created generations of public health harms for communities in the Gulf. #ProtectOurCoast #NoNewLeases

@BOEM @ChispaTexas @S_N_N_1 @Inletkeeper @wwalswatershed @greenpeaceusa @lukemetzger Dante with @ciel_tweets notes that at least 8 million acres of U.S. ocean is already leased for #offshoredrilling but not currently in production--why should we add any more acreage with new lease sales?

@BOEM @ChispaTexas @S_N_N_1 @Inletkeeper @wwalswatershed @greenpeaceusa @lukemetzger @ciel_tweets Cheryl, calling in from Maryland for #NoNewLeases. “We need the air, the water, the land and the other critters to live on Earth.”

@BOEM @ChispaTexas @S_N_N_1 @Inletkeeper @wwalswatershed @greenpeaceusa @lukemetzger @ciel_tweets Carrie Roach is a faith leader & educator in Florida, and she has faith in her students who are leading the fight against climate change. Our children deserve for us to stop drilling. “No New Leases. No New Leases”

@BOEM @ChispaTexas @S_N_N_1 @Inletkeeper @wwalswatershed @greenpeaceusa @lukemetzger @ciel_tweets Drew with @SierraClubFL in S. Florida: True energy independence comes when we move away from fossil fuels, with alternative energy sources. #Renewables #NoNewLeases

@BOEM @ChispaTexas @S_N_N_1 @Inletkeeper @wwalswatershed @greenpeaceusa @lukemetzger @ciel_tweets @SierraClubFL On why she’s speaking out for #NoNewLeases, @StudentPIRGs’ @chloemckennaaa says: “Tying my generation to a system that puts short-term gains over the long-term health of people and the planet is the wrong move.”

@BOEM @ChispaTexas @S_N_N_1 @Inletkeeper @wwalswatershed @greenpeaceusa @lukemetzger @ciel_tweets @SierraClubFL @StudentPIRGs @chloemckennaaa Josh is a lower Cook Inlet fisherman and wants Cook Inlet permanently protected from offshore drilling. He says Lower Cook Inlet is a special place, with ocean currents bringing nutrients that feed the Inlet’s fishing. Oil spills would devastate this productive ocean place.

@BOEM @ChispaTexas @S_N_N_1 @Inletkeeper @wwalswatershed @greenpeaceusa @lukemetzger @ciel_tweets @SierraClubFL @StudentPIRGs @chloemckennaaa 7 hours & it’s over. Thanks to everyone who called in to tell @BOEM to #ProtectOurCoast. And thanks to BOEM for making it possible for everyone to be heard. Signing off for the night hopeful that we can have a cleaner, greener future in the Gulf & all of our oceans. #NoNewLeases