There is no excuse for it… I mean literally, no excuse!
One year after the worst eco-disaster in American history, Congress still hasn’t done a thing – NOT ONE THING – to repair the damage and help the fragile Gulf Coast recover.
What’s worse: there isn’t even a good reason. There are NO powerful special interests lined up against us. There are NO lobbyists standing in our way. It’s just the inability of Washington politicians to agree on what to do – with the Gulf wetlands and the communities who depend on them caught in the middle.
Please Take Action: Tell Congress to stop holding the billions of BP Clean Water Act fines hostage and pass the RESTORE The Gulf Act of 2011 to dedicate funds where they’re needed most – Gulf restoration.
We need Congress to act before the August recess and before the 2012 campaign begins in earnest and diverts political attention.
The Tyranny of Inaction
If Congress doesn’t pass legislation to direct BP’s fines to Gulf restoration, two things will happen:
1. The funds will simply go to the U.S. Treasury’s “general fund” – never to be seen again, and
2. We will have squandered a once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in real Gulf Coast restoration.
Here is why this legislation matters. For decades, the fragile Gulf Coast wetlands have been cut up, channelized, and engineered to serve the offshore oil industry and shipping interests – starving the wetlands of silt and sediment and poisoning them with saltwater.
As a result, the wetlands are disappearing – not just shifting or changing – they’re actually vanishing.
So, after the devastation of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, last year’s BP blowout and resulting oil catastrophe battered an already depleted and vulnerable coastline.
And the damage is still being felt. To this day, oil continues to wash up on Gulf shores. As much as 30 percent of the spilled oil is still out there: on or under beaches, draped across marshes, sunk to the bottom, floating as tar balls.
This issue isn’t complicated. As the Gulf struggles to recover, the only thing we’re asking Congress to do is simply pass common sense legislation to direct the BP fines to fix the Gulf.
Sadly, in Washington these days, nothing is simple. That’s why we need you to help us force the issue.
Please Take Action: Tell your members of Congress to pass the RESTORE The Gulf Act of 2011 before they break for August recess
If you have time, here are three more things you can do to help:
1) Spread the word. Forward this link to your family and friends and urge them to join you in calling for Gulf Coast restoration:
2) Check our our Restoration and Resilience blog to learn more about the issue.
3) Follow our EDF Louisiana Twitter account to keep up with our Gulf Coast efforts.
You can also Follow us on Facebook
Thanks again for all that you do as a member of our Action Network. We’ll keep you posted on the fight ahead.
Sincerely,
Environmental Defense Action Fund
