SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Rescue groups have described the floods as the worst U.S. disaster since Superstorm Sandy.
(Photo: IIP Photo Archive/flickr/cc)
Amid Flooding, Groups Call for End to 'Unconscionable' Fossil Fuel Auctions
"Allowing next week's fossil fuel auction to move forward is rubbing salt in the wounds of a region already in a state of emergency"
Aug 19, 2016
A coalition of climate and advocacy groups on Friday called on the Obama administration to cancel an upcoming fossil fuel auction as Louisiana reels from the unprecedented floods that have ravaged the state--and which rescue groups have described as the worst U.S. disaster since Superstorm Sandy.
The organizations, including 350.org, CREDO, and Greenpeace, circulated a petition imploring President Barack Obama to call off the planned August 24 offshore drilling lease auction for a portion of the Gulf of Mexico "the size of Virginia." The auction is set to take place in the New Orleans Superdome, which became an infamous symbol of climate injustice and bureaucratic callousness when Hurricane Katrina victims were forced to take shelter there in 2005.
In the wake of the flooding, the groups said, allowing any more fossil fuel extraction--and in turn, facilitating the release of more climate-changing greenhouse gases--would be "unconscionable."
"My heart is filled with both a deep sadness and deep anger--at the fossil fuel companies driving this ongoing crisis, and at an administration that continues to sell them the right to do so," said Cherri Foytlin, a Gulf Coast mother of six and state director of the grassroots climate group Bold Louisiana.
Foytlin's home was one of the 40,000 that flooded in the disaster.
"The fact that this fossil fuel auction is set to take place in the New Orleans Superdome--the site of one of the most visible and tragic instances of climate injustice in recent history--is nothing short of insulting. Allowing next week's fossil fuel auction to move forward is rubbing salt in the wounds of a region already in a state of emergency," Foytlin said.
Hundreds of activists are also planning to march in New Orleans on Saturday to protest the auction and the administration's continued sacrificing of the Gulf Coast to the fossil fuel industry.
On January 20th, it begins...
Political revenge. Mass deportations. Project 2025. Unfathomable corruption. Attacks on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Pardons for insurrectionists. An all-out assault on democracy. Republicans in Congress are scrambling to give Trump broad new powers to strip the tax-exempt status of any nonprofit he doesn’t like by declaring it a “terrorist-supporting organization.” Trump has already begun filing lawsuits against news outlets that criticize him. At Common Dreams, we won’t back down, but we must get ready for whatever Trump and his thugs throw at us. Our Year-End campaign is our most important fundraiser of the year. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. By donating today, please help us fight the dangers of a second Trump presidency. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
hurricane katrinabarack obamaclimate emergencypeople powerfossil fuelsfossil fuel auctionsprotestfloodsenvironmentbold louisianasuperstorm sandylouisiana350.org
A coalition of climate and advocacy groups on Friday called on the Obama administration to cancel an upcoming fossil fuel auction as Louisiana reels from the unprecedented floods that have ravaged the state--and which rescue groups have described as the worst U.S. disaster since Superstorm Sandy.
The organizations, including 350.org, CREDO, and Greenpeace, circulated a petition imploring President Barack Obama to call off the planned August 24 offshore drilling lease auction for a portion of the Gulf of Mexico "the size of Virginia." The auction is set to take place in the New Orleans Superdome, which became an infamous symbol of climate injustice and bureaucratic callousness when Hurricane Katrina victims were forced to take shelter there in 2005.
In the wake of the flooding, the groups said, allowing any more fossil fuel extraction--and in turn, facilitating the release of more climate-changing greenhouse gases--would be "unconscionable."
"My heart is filled with both a deep sadness and deep anger--at the fossil fuel companies driving this ongoing crisis, and at an administration that continues to sell them the right to do so," said Cherri Foytlin, a Gulf Coast mother of six and state director of the grassroots climate group Bold Louisiana.
Foytlin's home was one of the 40,000 that flooded in the disaster.
"The fact that this fossil fuel auction is set to take place in the New Orleans Superdome--the site of one of the most visible and tragic instances of climate injustice in recent history--is nothing short of insulting. Allowing next week's fossil fuel auction to move forward is rubbing salt in the wounds of a region already in a state of emergency," Foytlin said.
Hundreds of activists are also planning to march in New Orleans on Saturday to protest the auction and the administration's continued sacrificing of the Gulf Coast to the fossil fuel industry.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
A coalition of climate and advocacy groups on Friday called on the Obama administration to cancel an upcoming fossil fuel auction as Louisiana reels from the unprecedented floods that have ravaged the state--and which rescue groups have described as the worst U.S. disaster since Superstorm Sandy.
The organizations, including 350.org, CREDO, and Greenpeace, circulated a petition imploring President Barack Obama to call off the planned August 24 offshore drilling lease auction for a portion of the Gulf of Mexico "the size of Virginia." The auction is set to take place in the New Orleans Superdome, which became an infamous symbol of climate injustice and bureaucratic callousness when Hurricane Katrina victims were forced to take shelter there in 2005.
In the wake of the flooding, the groups said, allowing any more fossil fuel extraction--and in turn, facilitating the release of more climate-changing greenhouse gases--would be "unconscionable."
"My heart is filled with both a deep sadness and deep anger--at the fossil fuel companies driving this ongoing crisis, and at an administration that continues to sell them the right to do so," said Cherri Foytlin, a Gulf Coast mother of six and state director of the grassroots climate group Bold Louisiana.
Foytlin's home was one of the 40,000 that flooded in the disaster.
"The fact that this fossil fuel auction is set to take place in the New Orleans Superdome--the site of one of the most visible and tragic instances of climate injustice in recent history--is nothing short of insulting. Allowing next week's fossil fuel auction to move forward is rubbing salt in the wounds of a region already in a state of emergency," Foytlin said.
Hundreds of activists are also planning to march in New Orleans on Saturday to protest the auction and the administration's continued sacrificing of the Gulf Coast to the fossil fuel industry.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.