South Carolina deserves the Florida treatment for offshore drilling

As a resident of coastal South Carolina, I urge Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and the Trump Administration to oblige Gov. Henry McMaster’s request to exempt South Carolina from offshore oil exploration. If Florida, home to Mar-a-Lago, can get a free pass on unsightly oil rigs and natural-resource destruction, then so should we.

South Carolinians rely on fisheries and ocean-based tourism and recreation, which support nearly 79,000 jobs and generating more than $4.4 billion in economic activity each year.

Moving forward on offshore drilling would industrialize our state’s coastline, destroy its pristine natural beauty and wreak havoc on the tourism industry.

Offshore drilling is simply not the energy independence answer that many are seeking. Estimates for reserves off our coast equate to a six-day supply of oil and gas at current U.S. consumption rates, meaning that even all recoverable fossil fuel reserves were extracted, South Carolina would still only meet current oil demand for 132 days.

Consumers wouldn’t even see lowered prices at the gas pump if drilling began off South Carolina. Is that worth destroying our coastline? As someone who deeply admires South Carolina’s coast, it’s natural resources and marine life, I think not.

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