Time to put down the summer reading for some summer writing! Now is the time to ratchet up our campaign against offshore drilling and in support of clean energy solutions that advance alternative energy production and greater energy efficiency, put America back to work with good jobs, put our economy back on the path to prosperity, end our dangerous dependence on fossil fuels, and fight global warming. And one of the best and easiest ways to do so, is by writing a short but sweet letter to the editor.

For instance, you can pick any one of our ten reasons why offshore drillng is wrong for Virginia and develop that further in your letter. The Sierra Club also offers these sample letters. Click here to read other great LTEs finding publication in either the Daily Press or Virginian-Pilot.

We need this very important issue front and center. Folks have got to learn that drilling off our coast may sound like a solution, but it only makes our problem worse. Your personal appeal in the form of an LTE really helps!

“No Drilling” OpEd
Time to Draw a Line in the Sand
By XXXX

With each passing day, hardworking Americans are watching the price of gas climb higher and higher. And oil executives are watching their profits soar even more steadily.

The oil industry and its allies in Congress are capitalizing on the pain at the pump that we’re all feeling. They’re using it to get their hands on more of our shared public lands and coastlines. On every front, they are pushing to lift the federal offshore drilling moratorium that has been supported by consecutive Congresses and presidents—including George Bush, Sr.— since 1981.

The oil industry claims that drilling off pristine beaches in Florida and Virginia will reduce the cost of gas for all of us who are struggling to drive to work and pick the kids up at school.

That’s simply not true.

The government’s own research shows that drilling our coasts won’t do anything to ease pain at the pump or create energy independence. Recent Energy Information Administration (EIA) data shows that it would take at least a decade to get the first drop of oil from the coastlines that are currently protected. New coastal drilling would not even reach peak production for twenty years, and even then, it would amount to a drop in the bucket on the world market, and would have an insignificant effect on gas prices.

It would only help oil companies rake in more record profits—Exxon alone made more than $40 billion in profits last year.

The oil industry wants us to believe that offshore drilling is harmless. Nothing could be farther from the truth. To see what drilling would look like on our favorite beaches, we have to look no farther than Louisiana and Alabama.

Thanks to drilling operations, Louisiana is losing 25 square miles of coastal wetlands each year, eating away at natural storm barriers that protect inland communities from hurricanes. Offshore drilling is particularly vulnerable to storms. The U.S. Coast Guard found that during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, nearly 9 million gallons of oil spilled from offshore drilling operations. And there is no truly effective method for cleaning up an oil spill of that size.

On Alabama’s Dauphin Island, drilling has wrought havoc. There the beaches are filthy and noisy, the water murky and the horizon marred by drilling platforms.

It’s not worth it to sacrifice our beaches—and the tourism and fishing they support—just so oil companies can get richer.

The honest answer to our oil problem is to use less of it, and that means better fuel efficiency and renewable energy. By simply making our homes, offices, cars and trucks more efficient, we will save energy and money today and far into the future. Instead of relying on volatile and expensive sources of oil and gas, we can use better technology to reduce our energy demand while producing more energy from renewable sources like wind and solar power.

These cheaper, cleaner and faster policies reduce short-term demand and costs while also providing long-term solutions to our energy needs. And they don’t require you to put your favorite vacation spot on the chopping block.

It’s time to draw a line in the sand. The oil industry is already sitting on nearly 6,000 unused offshore drilling leases. Handing over more of our shared coasts for them to hoard won’t help us, it will only help them. We need to stop the giveaways to Big Oil and start investing in clean, renewable energy and efficiency which will save us money and create jobs.

For millions of Americans, some of our fondest childhood memories are building sandcastles, learning to ride a wave, fishing, or watching dolphins, whales and manatees. We shouldn’t allow Big Oil to rob our children and grandchildren of these opportunities now. We may have taken our oil-free beaches and rig-less horizons for granted these 27 years, but it’s time to stand up and fight for them now.