Today a federal district court in Louisiana decided to lift a six-month moratorium on deep-water oil drilling imposed by President Obama in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
(Heavily oiled Brown Pelicans captured at Grand Isle, Louisiana on Thursday, June 3, 2010, wait to be cleaned of Gulf spill crude at The Fort Jackson Wildlife Care Center in Buras, LA. Photo Credit: International Bird Rescue Research Center)
Oil industry groups had challenged the moratorium, on the grounds that it caused irreparable economic harm to businesses servicing deep-water drilling in the Gulf.
The oil spill has already cost billions of dollars to fishing and tourism industries in the Gulf of Mexico region, in addition to harming priceless coastal habitat and wildlife.
Jamie Rappaport Clark, executive vice president of Defenders of Wildlife, today said, ”It is astonishing that even as oil continues to spew into the Gulf of Mexico, oil companies are fighting the Obama administration’s reasonable and measured pause on offshore drilling.”
Clark added, “We are extremely disappointed with today’s ruling but will continue to oppose the industry’s recklessness and disregard for American waters, natural resources and coastal communities.”
Tags: Animals, Current Events, Fish, Food, Health
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