The recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico served as a catalist for many environmental groups to urge the White House to rethink its position on offshore drilling, according to an article on Congress.org.

Groups such as the Sierra Club and National Resources Defense Fund,which  originally appeared willing to go along with the plans for increased offshore drilling,  have changed their stance after the disaster in the Gulf Coast last month.  In the wake of the disaster close to two dozen groups have signed a letter to congress saying  ”any expanded offshore exploration and drilling should be off the table” Congress.org reports. Many of the groups are also circulating petitions and organizing public rallies urging the president for a moratorium on offshore drilling.

“There’s no question that it has changed the debate,” Nick Berning, a spokesman with Friends of the Earth, tells Congress.org. “We’ve seen more engagement from our activists on this issue than we have in years.”

This activism is obvious on Twitter, where people are speaking out against future plans for offshore drilling, and urging their fellow twitter users to do the same. While also discussing the politics of the situation.

1. 
   chriskromm STILL, BABY, STILL? Some Southern leaders rethink offshore drilling, but most stay course in wake of disaster http://bit.ly/a8FttZ #oilspill 06 May 2010 from TweetDeck
2. 
   phive0phor In wake of massive #oilspill, support for offshore drilling has ‘fallen dramatically.’ http://bit.ly/byR7xe 06 May 2010 from Seesmic
3. 
   frankfuentes Offshore oil drilling, even riskier deep-sea drilling, still safer, less environmentally destructive than tanker transport. #oilspill 05 May 2010 from web
4. 
   Sierra_Club Host a Clean It Up rally to support the end to offshore drilling! http://sc.org/aC9E5d#oilspill 05 May 2010 from TweetDeck
5. 
   winterthur Obama Put a Moratorium on Offshore Drilling http://bit.ly/9o8bvx #oilspill #BP 05 May 2010 from Power Twitter
6. 
   enviroknow Support for Offshore Drilling Has Plummeted Among Both Parties http://ow.ly/17hVRs 06 May 2010 from HootSuite

– this quote was brought to you by quoteurl

Reluctantly accepting new drilling opportunities, many environmentalists and Democrats originally felt the expansion of offshore drilling was a necessary compromise to get support for a climate and energy bill. Many now feel that it is unacceptable and  that the proposed Kerry-Graham bill doesn’t go far enough. The proposed bill aims to cut greenhouse gases while making concessions to businesses, such as allowing manufacturing companies four years before they are subject to a  carbon cap, according to an article in The Washington Post.

“We were willing to accept some offshore drilling if that’s what it took to get Republicans to support the bill, but now we think it’s totally inappropriate,” said Athan Manuel, director of Sierra Club’s Lands Protection Program, in the Congress.org article.