More Than 250 Business Leaders, Others Tell Congress: Say No To More Offshore Drilling

E2 members: Invest in clean energy technologies that create jobs, don’t increase our dependence on fossil fuels and threaten our coastal economies

More than 250 business people, investors and others from across the country urged Congress not to support the Trump administration’s plans to greatly expand offshore oil drilling.

Doing so, members of Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2) pointed out, would risk more oil spills that could devastate America’s $100B ocean tourism and recreation industry, while also casting a cloud over the clean energy industry and its 3 million American workers.

E2 Executive Director Bob Keefe said:

“President Trump has already signaled with the blunt ax of his budget that he’d rather risk our coastlines and keep us shackled to oil than strengthen America’s investments and leadership in clean, renewable energy. Now he wants an oil rig off of every beach.

Business leaders know that’s a bad idea. They want Congress to do its job and stop this shortsighted thinking coming from the White House. They want Congress to protect our coastal economies and build on the explosive growth in the clean energy industry, not abandon it.”

To view the full letter and see the full list of E2 members who signed it visit http://bit.ly/2rRnmLs.

According to the letter, expanding offshore drilling would threaten existing coastal economies, deepen the nation’s dependence on oil and undermine the U.S. commitment to a transition to a clean energy economy.

We should be investing in the clean technologies that create jobs and reduce environmental impacts and threats, rather than locking in our dependence on fossil fuels, the letter reads.

Signatories include business owners, investors, executives and former executives from across America.

About E2
E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs) is a national, nonpartisan group of business leaders, investors, and professionals from every sector of the economy who advocate for smart policies that are good for the economy and good for the environment. Our members have founded or funded more than 2,500 companies, created more than 600,000 jobs, and manage more than $100B in venture and private equity capital. For more information, visit www.e2.org.