ASBURY PARK - If the federal government approves oil and gas drilling offshore, a group of New Jersey elected officials, environmentalists and residents worry that beaches like Asbury Park's would be in jeopardy.
They envision a disaster like the one in Gulf Coast states after the Deepwater Horizon explosion of 2010, when millions of barrels of oil coated animals and slicked beaches for hundreds of miles. In the months afterward, crews cleaned oil and tar from beaches, ocean-dwelling animals died in unusual numbers, and that region's fishing and tourism industry were temporarily crippled.
Asbury Park Mayor John Moor said he worries a similar disaster could happen at the Jersey Shore.
"The ocean is one of our biggest assets but also one of our greatest adversaries. We use it as a source of commerce and recreation," he said. "But its power is great, and we understand that with the benefits come the natural risks that we must prepare for and resolve. To face a new man-made opponent such as offshore drilling, which could have consequences far beyond what storms such as Sandy and Irene have brought,... is inexcusable."
Moor joined Sens. Cory Booker and Robert Menendez and Rep. Frank Pallone, all D-N.J., as well as representatives from dozens of organizations that also opposed the prospect of offshore drilling.
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