Hurricanes Katrina and Rita exposed the underbelly of the oil industry, and now Greenpeace is exposing the politicians stained with oil money. In the wake of the storms, Louisiana and Texas faced massive oil spills as a result of platforms and refineries that couldn’t withstand hurricane force winds. But some members of Congress can’t withstand pressure from the oil industry, and are using the hurricane tragedies as an excuse to actually spread these offshore drilling operations to other vulnerable coastal communities.

In an ironic twist of fate, many of the same politicians who are supporting increases of offshore drilling, just happen to have received the largest contributions from the oil industry. In fact, big oil has spent big bucks, contributing more than $180 million to lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

Here’s a list of the oil industry’s favorite politicians:

(Source: Center for Responsive Politics opensecrets.org)

“It is outrageous and unacceptable that elected officials on both sides of the aisle appear willing to do whatever it takes to help their buddies, even if it means allowing them to profit off the backs of homeless hurricane victims,” said John Passacantando, Executive Director of Greenpeace.  “Furthermore, American citizens should do everything in their power to stop the oil industry from putting floating grenades in our backyards.”

The answer to the energy crisis facing America is reducing our dependence on oil.  Elected officials who are truly concerned about this issue will take the necessary steps to invest in renewable energy sources like solar and wind power.  These sources are safe, affordable, and long overdue.