Letter | Don’t sell out the Myrtle Beach area coast for big oil companies

As a summer visitor to North Myrtle Beach for over 40 years and now a full-time resident, I know what a treasure we have here: wide sandy beaches; a pristine ocean; and a string of friendly communities spread like jewels along our coast.

Now, there’s a threat to our coastline that all of us who live here must pay attention to. South Carolina has given the go-ahead for large oil companies to begin seismic testing and drilling for oil right off our coast. The question is why would we ever endanger our quality of life here to make money for big oil companies? The residents of the Gulf Coast can tell us about the price they paid in damage to sea life, tourism and fishing, and like the Gulf, we are in a major hurricane area where we to could expect an oil catastrophe in case of another Hugo or Hazel. Even if a major catastrophe doesn’t happen, small spills and tar balls on community beaches are reported weekly.

“But,” say the oil companies, “the advantages far outweigh the risks.” Can we take their word for it that excess money and thousands of jobs will flow to the state if we allow them to drill off our coast? Oil workers tend to be highly trained nomads who are hired by the companies to move from site to site all over the world. The revenue from the any oil found belongs to the companies and the federal government, not South Carolina.

In answer to the question, why would we endanger our way of life for Atlantic drilling, I think it’s clear the risks far outweigh the gains. At this point, big oil and politicians are depending on us to remain apathetic and simply trust them to look after us until they get what they want. We can’t let that happen. Let’s stop Atlantic drilling right here, right now, and preserve our beach way of life for ourselves and our children.

This story was originally published July 10, 2015 at 4:26 PM with the headline "Letter | Don’t sell out the Myrtle Beach area coast for big oil companies."