Dear Paul,

Thank you for your letter to BOEM. It was very well stated, and I hope the message will be heard. I went to the meeting yesterday in KDH and it was encouraging to see so many concerned local Outer Banks residents. As I expressed to some of the BOEM staff, I think we can all agree that petroleum is a limited and dying resource with negative effects on the environment and climate. Should we not be encouraging our brightest minds and financial resources to invest in the ‘very certain future’ of safe alternative sources of energy rather than investing in the past? This is a major role of government; to make thoughtful decisions that are in the best long-term interest of the community at large, rather than catering to short-term economic gain. 

There are many reasons locally to be opposed to off-shore drilling; the sonic cannons that injure marine wildlife, the toxic drilling muds, the risk of oil spills, the on-shore infrastructure, the threat to our tourist economy, but in my mind the biggest reason is that our government has a responsibility to make the difficult decisions that will shape our future as a state and nation, and certainly oil and gas exploration are not in those best interests.

Thanks again for your work,

Gary Mitchell