| This past weekend, a massive oil spill from an underwater pipeline leak off the Southern California coast spewed more than 126,000 gallons of crude oil into the Pacific — tarring and killing birds, fish, and other marine life, and threatening ecosystems, coastal communities, and the local economy. Officials have closed beaches indefinitely.
I grew up here, and it's infuriating to see my childhood beach devastated this way. This is a magical area — one of the country's most diverse coastal ecosystems — and it angers me to think of whales, dolphins, sea lions and seals trying to swim through crude oil.
It's time to get serious about phasing out risky, hazardous oil and gas operations.
The tragedy was yet another reminder of how devastating oil spills can be to the wildlife and communities they leave in their wake — and how urgent it is that we transition away from dirty fossil fuels and toward a clean energy economy.
But Congress went on recess this week, delaying passage of the all-important budget reconciliation bill that would enact President Biden's Build Back Better agenda — a once-in-a-generation plan that that will create millions of jobs by finally addressing the climate crisis and spurring an equitable transition to a 100% clean energy future.
Now anti-environment lawmakers and their oil industry allies are counting on us losing interest in this fight as we wait weeks for them to return to Washington to resume debate on this bill. And big fossil fuel lobby groups are ramping up their spending in the hopes that they can eliminate the climate provisions of this critical legislation.
We must do everything we can to show them that they can't silence us — we're going keep making our voices heard until this reconciliation legislation is passed.
Here are three ways you can help get this critical bill across the finish line:
- Sign our petition telling your lawmakers (again!) that strong budget reconciliation legislation must combat climate change, create jobs, and move toward an equitable clean energy future for all.
- For the latest updates on this and other critical campaigns to fight climate change and invest in our communities, text CONGRESS to 21333 to be added to our mobile list.
- Join our community of activists and volunteers on Slack taking action to build pressure for the strongest pro-climate, pro-jobs legislation possible.
This oil spill proves yet again that the risks are real. And the costs are simply unacceptable.
Yet, in the wake of this disaster, the Biden administration is gearing up for a huge offshore lease sale next month in the Gulf of Mexico — a place that has served as a giant sacrifice zone for the escalating costs of our oil dependence on our ocean waters, coastal and fishing communities, and our climate.
The images of the oil catastrophe near my hometown are the latest tragic reminder that the nation and our planet simply cannot continue this way. Something must change — now. And that change must start with us.
Thank you for standing with us in defense of our coasts and our climate.
Sincerely,
Damon Nagami
Senior Advisor, NRDC Action Fund
Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images  | 
