This is to say nothing of the predominantly Black, Indigenous and low-income communities along the Texas and Louisiana coast who live and work near polluting oil and gas pipelines, plants and terminals every day. Fossil fuels have put the health and safety of countless Gulf Coast families at risk for decades, and continue to do so today.
To protect our communities and our climate, we must change course. Most importantly, it’s time to dump dirty fossil fuels and invest in a future powered by clean energy. But fossil fuel executives are rushing to spend billions to build massive new oil and gas facilities, hoping to lock the world into a future that continues to run (while it does) on oil and gas.
That’s where U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg comes in. With jurisdiction over the U.S. Maritime Administration, Secretary Buttigieg has the authority to reject required permits for four newly proposed deepwater crude oil export terminals in the Gulf of Mexico. In doing so, Secretary Pete can help lead America and the world in the direction of a sustainable future.