A public comment period has just closed on a proposal by the Trump administration to expand drilling along the U.S. Atlantic coast.
Hundreds of thousands of members of a national environmental coalition submitted comments opposing the plan, which would open drilling for oil and gas in previously protected areas.
Marine Wildlife expert Michael Jasny of the National Resources Defense Council said drilling in the Atlantic Ocean doesn’t make economic sense.
“The jobs that it offers are a sliver when compared to the fishing jobs, the coastal tourism jobs that are the mainstay of so many communities along the East Coast,” he said.
Jasny said the possibility of oil spills could also put marine life and coastal communities at risk.
Trump administration officials say the proposal is part of a larger strategy to lower the cost of energy and make America more energy independent.
