The Planning and Conservation League has joined over one hundred advocacy groups in letting Congress know that when it comes to offshore drilling, enough is enough. In a letter submitted last week to the Senate, the groups collectively urged that plans to expand offshore oil and gas exploration and drilling, in any legislation, be abandoned.

This renewed pressure comes in the wake of the disastrous Gulf oil spill as media and public attention to drilling is high, and the severity of the catastrophe continues to increase. More and more people are realizing that offshore drilling is a gamble we can no longer afford.

In the midst of the Gulf Coast disaster, both of California’s senators have vocalized their opposition to new off shore drilling. California’s newest congress member, John Garamendi, has just introduced the West Coast Ocean Protection Act of 2010 to prevent new drilling off our coast. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger also announced that he no longer supports new drilling, and would not continue to push for the Tranquillon Ridge oil and natural gas project off the coast of Santa Barbara County.

The ongoing Gulf disaster is yet another wake up call proving that we cannot continue to rely upon an energy source that costs lives and jeopardizes the environmental and economic integrity of our natural areas. PCL is committed to campaigning against new oil drilling and is proud to support our elected representatives fighting to protect California’s coast.