Our fight to keep the low quality sticky oil under Abruzzo’s seismic mountains, plains and coastline continues but we need a little bit of a helping hand!
Oceana is the world’s largest organisation whose sole focus is ocean conservation. With offices in The Americas and Europe, their scientists, economists, lawyers and advocates work together to achieve tangible results in keeping the oceans alive & clean. Each year they hold awards for ‘Ocean Heroes’ across the globe and we would love as many people as possible to nominate Maria Rita D’Orsogna who spearheads the NoOilAbruzzo campaign.
Last summer the Italian government finally vetoed the Ombrina Mare Well planned by Mediterranean Oil & Gas plc, to be situated just 9km off Abruzzo’s coast. Maria, a Math Professor at California State University, Northridge, has been campaigning against the oil giant’s plans for Abruzzo since 2007. The Ministry openly ceded that one of the main reasons for this veto was due to the campaign “osservazioni”.
Unfortunately oil, money and politics do not stand still and one other reason to nominate Maria’s incredible hard work is that potentially a win by her will keep Abruzzo’s low grade oil in the news and remind both regional and national government that Abruzzo has more to gain in the long term economically by staying green than by tarring its valleys, hills and coastline. At the end of the last month wells were approved just 26 km from the stunning Tremiti Islands and just 40 km from Chieti’s main coast, named D505. Additionally worrying is that there is nothing yet in writing if these projects go ahead to confirm that it must meet the regulations that the Italian government issued last year following the US Deepwater oil spill.
So will you help us try and keep Abruzzo green? It is but a short form, you may have to add Maria’s age (38) and websites which are in:
Italian (http://dorsogna.blogspot.com/
and
English http://savethemontepulciano.blogspot.com/)
and your reasons (any of the above) for nominating her for this award for significant, ongoing contribution to ocean conservation. If you have friends and family that you think have an equal love of keeping Abruzzo famous for being Europe’s largest park do share and invite them along to nominate Maria, the closing date is April 27 2011.
Click here to nominate Maria for an Ocean Hero Award
Author: Sam Dunham
Sam is a very lucky midlife 'mamma' to A who is 12 and juggles her work as a self-employed freelance SEO food and travel copywriter and EFL teacher. She is the founder of the Life In Abruzzo Cultural Association, co-founder of Let's Blog Abruzzo. she is the founder of the 'English in the Woods' initiative, teaching English outdoors in a forest style school.
