This is bad news for the planet: BP has just submitted plans to the Brazilian government to allow it to drill in the Amazon.

The corporation wants to drill in the unique coral-rich region next year -- which could spell disaster for local wildlife. BP’s own environmental impact assessment (EIA) claimed in the event of a spill it would use a known dangerous chemical that causes significant damage to coral larvae.

Last month a group of 40 scientists, naturalists and explorers wrote an open letter to BP asking it to stay out of the region, saying its presence would harm the Amazon’s thriving ecosystem.

The risk of a spill is too great a threat to the marine life in the region. Tell BP to listen to the experts, and put the environment before profits.

BP: stay out of the Amazon!

According to the open letter, a spill could negatively impact the reef and the wider basin; an area that’s home to vulnerable species like the Amazonian manatee and leatherback sea turtle.

The area where BP plans to drill is home to over 70 species of fish alone. But scientists say not enough is yet known about this part of the ocean -- and drilling could devastate the area before we’ve had a chance to fully discover what’s there.

Plans to drill in the area, which sits at the water mouth of the Amazon, pose a significant risks: whether from the drilling itself, or the threat of oil spills, which BP itself gave up to a 30% chance of reaching the delicate reef.

If the drilling goes ahead now, under such risky circumstances, it would be a betrayal of our care of duty to the oceans and its wildlife.

BP’s long history of oil spills, its contribution to climate change, and its rip-off energy practices have gained hundreds of thousands of signatures on petitions from SumOfUs members like you. Now let’s tell BP that the environment comes before its bottom line -- and to stay away from the Amazon.

BP: stay out of the Amazon! The risks are too great to its delicate ecosystem!

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