Affecting change in offshore drilling policies in Florida through outreach and advocacy

The United States depends on fossil fuels to generate electricity and fuel automobiles. However, the process of finding, extracting, refining, and combusting fossil fuels is often detrimental to the marine environment. Organizations such as Oceana campaign to protect the marine environment from harmful effects. I worked with Oceana’s climate and energy campaign fighting a proposal from the Department of the Interior (DOI) allowing seismic airgun testing along the East Coast. Seismic airgun testing is the first stage in oil production, so the proposal would essentially open up the coast to offshore drilling. Through the collection of photo petitions, production of letters to the editor and op-ed pieces, production of a community report, and completion of lobby visits I helped convince policy leaders in Florida to express their opposition to the DOI proposal.