FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 1, 2010
Contact: Kristina Johnson
(415) 977-5619
Obama Calls for Criminal Investigation into BP Disaster
Washington, D.C. - Today, President Obama vowed to pursue criminal investigation into the cause of the BP Disaster in the Gulf, which has yet to be contained and is becoming the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history.
Statement of Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune
BP needs to be held fully accountable for the disaster in the Gulf. The company pursued drilling without having adequate response plans, putting lives and livelihoods at risk. The company should be fully prosecuted for its negligence and for any attempts to mislead the government about its disaster response plans or the seriousness of the oil spill.
This disaster did not have to happen. In its aggressive pursuit of profit, BP, one of the richest companies in the world, has robbed thousands of Gulf Coast residents of their livelihoods and has robbed all of us of irreplaceable resources like sea turtles, dolphins, birds, clean beaches, and fresh bountiful seafood.
BP should pay. Not just for the clean up, but for the lives lost and the natural treasures destroyed.
We have also seen just how inadequate federal oversight of the oil industry has been. President Obama has already taken steps to address these problems, and we commend him for that. Now, we need to separate oil and state once and for all.
This disaster is a wake up call. We need to stop letting the oil industry call the shots. We need to stop letting the oil industry stand in the way of policies that would promote clean energy and safe, healthy jobs instead of more aggressive and dangerous forms of oil. It's time to move beyond oil.
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