Off Shore Oil Drilling on the Atlantic Coast

The New York Times reported last month that the Trump administration is poised to roll back offshore drilling safety regulations put in place after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. 

That explosion killed 11 people and caused the worst oil spill in American history.  

We spoke recently with Stony Brook University conservation biologist Carl Safina,

whose 2011 book, A SEA IN FLAMES: The Deepwater Horizon Oil Blowout

chronicles that disaster.

Last April, the Trump administration announced that seismic surveys would be allowed off the Atlantic seaboard.  The surveys are used to identify oil resources in preparation for drilling.   

Last Spring, we talked with Peter Stauffer, environmental director for the SurfriderFoundation, about seismic surveys and their potential effect on marine life.  

Listen here:

The federal Bureau of Ocean Management will be holding hearings on its National Outer Shelf Oil and Gas and Leasing program at 3 locations in or near our area.

More about CarlSafina

Safina’s books include:

Song for the Blue Ocean
Eye of the Albatross
The View from Lazy Point
A Sea in Flames
and Beyond Words: How Animals think and feel

The Surfrider Foundation USA is a grassroots non-profit environmental organization that works to protect and preserve the world's oceans, waves and beaches.

It focuses its work on water quality, beach access, beach and surf spot preservation, and sustaining marine and coastal ecosystems.

Listen to Sustainable East End on the third Wednesday each month on WPKN.