ENERGY »» ENERGY EXTRACTION »» OFFSHORE OIL DRILLING »» Jan 25, 2021

Until a 30-year moratorium expired in 2012, drilling for oil off our Atlantic and Pacific coasts had been prohibited. But in 2010, the Obama administration decided to allow oil exploration and drilling off our Eastern Seaboard. It is estimated that about 5 billion barrels of recoverable oil and 38 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas lie beneath federal waters from Florida to Maine. Even so, past court decisions have upheld the right of a state to ban drilling if it threatens its coast or fisheries. Fishing and tourism advocates fear an oil spill or accident could irreparably damage coastal ecosystems. The memory of the damage resulting from BP