From red state to blue, ten governors of states bordering the East Coast of the U.S. have joined forces to endorse the development of wind energy farms on the Outer Continental Shelf. The list includes Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, and Virgina.
So much for all that new offshore oil drilling along the East Coast that was supposed to happen. Though some of the ten governors have refrained from openly opposing Atlantic Coast oil drilling, the “neighbor effect” virtually guarantees that they’re not going to welcome it with open arms. Given the mess that BP’s oil spill has made of the tourism and fishing industries in the Gulf Coast, any new exploitation of East Coast waters for fossil fuels will have to get past ten governors who have put politics aside in favor of an energy source that creates new green jobs and supports existing industries instead of destroying them.