Publisher’s Notebook

• Malibu: Draw a Line in the Sand •

BY ANNE SOBLE

Washington has signed off on at least five new offshore oil drilling permits this month. Three of the projects were given waivers exempting them from environmental impact studies—the same waiver that BP received for the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that is now in the process of destroying the marine environment in the Gulf of Mexico and the financial stability of thousands of people in what may ultimately be four states.

There are more than 7500 active offshore oil and gas drilling leases in the United States. These major industrial operations have tremendous impacts on the ocean floor, water and air quality, and fragile marine ecosystems everywhere the sea touches the shoreline. And that’s only what is visible. No one in any of the sciences is willing to even speculate on the extent of the damage below the ocean’s surface, where life is giving way to death as the environmental norm.

It is imperative that everyone who cares about the ocean, the world, and all living things, tell the world’s political leadership to stop offshore oil drilling. It is up to us to speak out for ourselves, as well as be the voice for the beings that have no voice. They are dying in unprecedented numbers in water that may be fouled for decades or longer. Since we don’t have the hundreds of millions of dollars each major oil company spends on lobbying politicians, we have to resort to body count if we want to get their attention.

We can show up for “Hands Across the Sand” on Saturday at 11 a.m. at Surfrider Beach. We can dial the White House Hotline, 202-456-1111, and state, “I’m calling to ask that you restore the federal moratorium on all new offshore oil and gas development and exploration.” If you have access to elected officials, and are a donor, bend ears and twist arms.

Thousands showed up on 80 Florida beaches for the first “Hands” event earlier this year. It is hoped that there will be hundreds of thousands or more individuals willing to take a stand and urge the world to say no to offshore oil drilling and yes to clean energy alternatives. We have the best chance we have ever had of moving past our outdated fossil fuels mentality while the realization of what could happen to any of our beaches is vividly imprinted in our minds. The public relations pros are at work on campaigns to downplay the impact of Deepwater Horizon. If they succeed, we have lost.