BOSTON – Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket State Representative Dylan Fernandes joined activists and lawmakers in Boston earlier this week to protest a Trump Administration proposal to open up New England coastal zones to oil drilling.
Fernandes called the proposal an environmentally and economically disastrous policy for the state.
Protestors believe the drilling would negatively impact marine life and threaten the local fishing and tourism industries at a time when the government should be transitioning to renewable energy.
“Opening up our precious shores to oil and gas drilling would be nothing short of a catastrophe for Massachusetts, both for our environment and our blue economy,” Fernandes said at the event.
“If the Trump Administration were actually interested in solving our country’s energy problems, they could start by investing in clean, renewable energy instead of dragging us backward.”
Fernandes was chosen by the Sierra Club to speak at the event at the Sheraton Hotel Boston because of his advocacy and legislation on environmental protection and ocean health.
A public hearing on the federal proposal from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management was being held at the hotel. BOEM opted not to accept verbal testimony from the public.
About CapeCod.com NewsCenter
