Since its January roll out , Interior SecretaryRyan Zinke ’s offshore drilling planhas total under ardour from all quarters .
First Florida Governor Rick Scottasked for a waiver . Thenother governor jumped on control board . Now the good Lord has weighed in through earthly representatives to register opposition to the Interior Department ’s plans to drill turgid swaths of the ocean around the U.S.
On Thursday , a chemical group of more than 300 priests , nun , reverends , and other man and women of the clothsent a letterto Zinke and his boss Donald Trump . In it , they state they could n’t support a architectural plan that “ work unacceptable endangerment to God ’s ocean and coastal communities . ”
Currently , 94 percent of U.S. coastal waters are closed to drilling . The Zinke program would radically alter that math , open almost every corner U.S. ocean and the Gulf of Mexico to oil and flatulency exploration .
There are political , economic , and environmental reason for opposing the plan . The varsity letter bear on on some of those and couches them in a religious context . Its signatories are members of the National Religious Partnership for the Environment , a radical of spiritual leaders from various religious belief who see the planet as a resource to be cherish rather than ravished . They explained why practise in the oceans isa terrible ideaand why the administration should be focusing itsenergy efforts on renewablesinstead :
God created the ocean with an abundance of lifespan and , as stewards of God ’s world , we should turn to save and protect God ’s marine creation . As masses of faith , we also uphold our responsibility to jazz our neighbor . sea provide food sources and livelihoods for millions in the U.S. and globally .
We urge the Trump Administration to center on investments in renewable sources of DOE such as wind and solar , as well as maximize our energy efficiency , instead of expect to expand fossil fuel exploration in God ’s sea . God intrust us to be ripe shop steward of God ’s oceans and coasts . We should honor this consecrated tariff and place our country as a globular loss leader in energy stewardship .
We ask you to join us as God ’s steward of the ocean and to honor the local resident , businesses , and millions of Americans who have already made absolved their support for preserving , not drill off our country ’s beach .
This is n’t the first time religious leaders have ram into the politics around resource origin . deep last year , a dozen nuns from the Sisters of Mercysent a letter of the alphabet to Congressasking spokesperson and senators to not reach the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to practise . And then there ’s Pope Francis himself who has shared a consistently pro - environmental protection substance with his billion - plus following .
The nun lost that fight , but the fighting over seaward drilling has some potent constituency force back against the plan from both side of the gangway . In addition to the bipartisan chemical group of governors call for for waivers , 200 two-party state congressman get off a letter registering their displeasure with the plan as well .
The only constituency that seems on board with this plan is the oil and gaseous state industry , which is the only group the Trump administration consistently think about . But clergy members are endeavor to remind them there ’s a high power they might just have to answer to .
ryan zinke
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