WASHINGTON - April 2 - The Department of the Interior today released a hastily-prepared report estimating potential offshore renewable energy resources, as well as possible oil and gas deposits that might be found along America’s coastlines. While the report will be a major focus of upcoming public meetings, it fails to adequately examine the other side of the equation: the potential for major long-term harm to other coastal resources from offshore energy development, particularly from fossil fuels.

“The Obama administration has promised to take a more thoughtful approach to the stewardship of America’s coastal waters than the preceding administration,” said Richard Charter, consultant for Defenders of Wildlife.  “However, today’s draft report is filled with outdated petroleum estimates and wild guesses about hypothetical energy potential.”

Today’s report was prepared in just 45 days, apparently using past seismic survey data long kept on file by the Minerals Management Service and the U.S. Geological Survey. The report attempts to quantify rough estimates of possible oil and gas and the hypothetical potential of various offshore wind, wave and tidal energy sites. However, while the report briefly summarizes environmental issues, it does not incorporate any significant recent information about the regional economies and living marine resources that would be affected by industrial development of petroleum resources, nor does the report address the significant impacts of carbon fuel consumption on global warming.

“The existing, coastal-dependent economic base of shoreline communities nationwide is not really considered in the report, nor are the immense dollar values represented by commercial and sport fisheries, ocean ecosystems, national parklands, tourism uses, and the habitats for marine wildlife that rely completely on clean, ecologically productive coastal waters,” said Charter. “Today’s report demonstrates the need for a more balanced approach that considers the long-term impacts of drilling on climate, and balances energy development with existing uses of the sea and seabed for the benefit of wildlife, fisheries and the human communities that depend on these resources.”

The Department of the Interior report is available online and will be the focus of upcoming public hearings to be held in Atlantic City on April 6, in New Orleans on April 8, in Anchorage on April 14, and in San Francisco on April 16.

See locations and details about these upcoming public hearings

Read today’s full report from the Department of the Interior

View our podcast regarding the upcoming hearings