Petition: Tell Mitt Romney that Drilling for Oil in National Parks isn’t an Energy Solution

Tell Mitt Romney that Drilling for Oil in National Parks isn’t an Energy Solution

Sign the Petition: http://forcechange.com/23673/tell-mitt-romney-that-drilling-for-oil-in-national-parks-isnt-an-energy-solution/

ENVIRONMENT, PETITIONS — BY JOSH SAGER ON JUNE 11, 2012 6:34 PM 

Target: Presidential candidate Mitt Romney

Goal: Convince Mitt Romney that opening the entire United States, including national parks, to oil drilling is not a valid plan to solve the nation’s energy problem.

Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican candidate for president, currently supports a policy of drastically increased drilling as a solution to the looming energy crisis in the United States. The United States is on an unsustainable energy consumption trajectory and will need additional energy sources if we desire to preserve our current lifestyle; as the potential future leader of the United States, Romney’s plans surrounding energy policy are vital, as are any consequences caused by these plans.

The official Romney campaign position on oil drilling is as follows: “Governor Romney will permit drilling wherever it can be done safely, taking into account local concerns.” While Romney’s energy plan is arguably ineffective, due to the limitations surrounding non-renewable resources, the primary problem with it is that protected national park land would be opened to oil exploration.

Under candidate Romney’s current energy plan, national parks – such as Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon – would be opened to oil drilling and likely despoiled during the extraction process. Oil drilling is an environmentally dangerous process and will lead to the inevitable degradation of our national parks.

Putting aside the facts that the increased use of carbon-based fuels will exacerbate global climate change and that oil is not a renewable resource, drilling in national parks is not worth the damage that it causes. We need to preserve our country’s national parks, and cannot allow the short term need for energy to overshadow the permanent damage that can be done to our national treasures. Sign this petition to protest candidate Romney’s energy plan and stop the potential despoiling of our national parks.

• PETITION LETTER

Dear Candidate Mitt Romney,

Your current energy plan consists of opening the entire United States, including protected national land, to oil drilling. This plan, while it will increase short term energy supplies for the country, will lead to the inevitable degradation of our national parks.

Put plainly, the opening of national parks to oil drilling is not an effective policy and will harm the United States in the long term. The potential oil production gained from pillaging national park land will eventually disappear, yet the damage done to our national parks will remain forever.

Our national parks and historic landmarks should be protected from all encroachments, particularly encroachments which have the potential to render the protected land toxic for generations to come. I, as well as everybody else to sign this petition, implore you to abandon your plan to open national park land to oil exploration – there are safer, cleaner and less destructive methods of fixing our country’s energy problems.

Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]