Gulf Restoration Network

Visiting the White House with a Message: Restore the Gulf Blog - BPs Oil Drilling Disaster in the Gulf of Mexico Friday, 04 February 2011 10:42

Today GRN’s Johanna Polsenberg delivered over 400 petitions to the White House calling on Obama to address the concerns of not just the people of the Gulf but people nationwide about the recovery of the Gulf of Mexico. Throughout the summer and fall, GRN volunteers for the Gulf Future Campaign headed out to festivals and music events across the nation to ask ordinary citizens for their support for a full Gulf Coast Recovery.

Addressed to President Obama the petitions urged him to:

• Hold BP accountable for the full cost of this disaster. This includes cleaning up all the oil that spewed from the well and restoring the marine and coastal environments;
• Make coastal communities whole by ensure that coastal and fishing communities have the resources to fight for their future;
• Prevent future calamities by supporting the use of clean and renewable energy, stopping dangerous deep water drilling, and creating effective regulation of the oil industry.

With the recent release of the Oil Spill Commissions report, the Obama administration and Congress have a unique opportunity to answer the call of Gulf Coast residents and their supporters nationwide by legislating some of the key recommendations of the commission. Most importantly, the commission recommends the creation of the Regional Citizen’s Advisory Council which would make sure the communities who are paying the price for the failures that led to this disaster have a chance to weigh in as the oil industry gears up again in what has long been our nation’s energy sacrifice zone.

Additionally, the commission recommends that 80% of the eventual fines and penalties paid by BP and the other responsible parties be directed to the Gulf to jump-start the overdue restoration of historic environmental damages made even worse by BP’s oil. Tell your Congressperson today that they need to act now to ensure that we restore the Gulf.