The Hill: After drilling decision, focus needs to turn to protecting the Gulf, clean energy

Lindsey Allen, Executive Director of Rainforest Action Network, offers a perspective on President Obama’s latest environmental decision:

This week President Obama showed legislative creativity, using a 60-year old law to protect pristine coastlines and marine resources in the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans for generations to come.  Now, we need him to take the next step onto truly bold climate leadership.

The reality is that the drilling in Gulf of Mexico remains a massive corporate giveaway under our current system, a golden handshake to incredibly wealthy corporations that should have cleaned up their acts and rapidly diversified decades ago.

We will never reach climate stability unless we keep more fossil fuels in the ground. And we will never embody our national ideals unless we refuse to sacrifice entire communities for corporate profits. (read more)