While the Biden administration has focused on climate action, Donald Trump’s proposed ocean drilling plan aims to set free an unprecedented expansion of offshore oil exploration. The scale is staggering: 1.27 billion acres of public waters targeted for drilling, with over 30 massive oil sales planned for the Gulf of Mexico alone over the next 15 years. That’s a lot of ocean.
The plan doesn’t stop there. Six lease sales in Alaska’s Cook Inlet—critical habitat for endangered beluga whales—plus the entire California coast between 2027 and 2030. Because apparently we haven’t learned anything from past oil disasters.
The assault on our waters extends to beluga habitats and California shores—as if previous disasters never happened.
Environmental impacts? Huge. The proposal threatens protected waters with irreplaceable deep sea coral gardens and marine biodiversity hotspots. These aren’t just pretty fish we’re talking about—these are complex ecosystems that coastal communities depend on. This mirrors Brazil’s situation where hydropower dependency(60.2%) is threatened by environmental degradation in protected areas.
And let’s not forget what happened after the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Not exactly a ringing endorsement for more drilling.
Millions of Americans living along coastlines have seen this movie before. Local communities in California still remember the devastation from spills in 2015 and 2021. Tourism took a hit. Fishing industries suffered. Livelihoods destroyed.
Yet here we are again, considering more rigs.
The irony? America is already producing more oil than any nation in history. Much of it gets exported anyway. So much for “energy independence” as the justification.
Opposition is fierce. Over 100 municipalities, countless businesses, tourism groups, and elected officials from both parties are fighting back. Over 80% of active leases in the Gulf of Mexico remain undeveloped, raising questions about the need for additional drilling areas.
Even during Trump’s first term, resistance forced him to backpedal on drilling plans in Florida and the Carolinas.
The Interior Department must consider both human and ecological impacts—it’s the law. A 60-day public comment period will begin soon, followed by additional review stages.
Meanwhile, coastal residents are asking a simple question: Why risk our oceans, jobs, and communities when we’re already drowning in oil?
References
- https://earthjustice.org/press/2025/trump-proposes-massive-expansion-of-offshore-drilling-in-public-waters-targets-protected-public-waters-off-california-eastern-gulf-near-florida-all-of-alaska
- https://usa.oceana.org/press-releases/interior-department-proposes-plan-to-wreck-americas-coasts-with-offshore-drilling-2/
