Cleanup workers search for contaminated sand and seaweed in front of drilling platforms and container ships about one week after an oil spill from an offshore oil platform on Oct. 9, 2021, in Huntington Beach, California. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

It’s summer beach season again. Over the coming months, millions of visitors will flock to the North and South Carolina coastlines and fuel a tourism-based economy that’s critically important to both states.

Unfortunately, powerful forces could soon jeopardize this amazing natural and economic resource by opening it to offshore oil and gas drilling.

Thankfully, a bipartisan chorus is pushing back. Recently, North Carolina’s Democratic governor, Josh Stein and his Republican counterpart from South Carolina, Henry McMaster, called on the Trump administration to maintain the current drilling moratorium.

As the governors noted, quote “Because of the significant risks associated with offshore oil and gas exploration, every North Carolina and South Carolina coastal municipality has passed a resolution opposing offshore drilling and seismic testing.”

The bottom line: Especially as the global climate crisis worsens, offshore oil and gas drilling is the last thing our fragile coastline needs. Kudos to Governors Stein and McMaster for taking a strong stand.

For NC Newsline, I’m Rob Schofield.