Although he’s no radical, Bob Graham (who has promised an objective assessment) spent his political career fighting offshore drilling. Additionally, as EPA administrator in the cabinet of Bush 41, Bill Reilly earned a reputation as a something of a conservationist. (He is also chairman emeritus of the board of the World Wildlife Fund). Reilly helped engineer Bush administration regulations that effectively banned offshore drilling in coastal areas for a decade.

The committee’s executive director, Richard Lazarus, is a prominent environmentalist lawyer who has also published two books, “The Making of Environmental Law” and “Environmental Law Stories” (with Oliver Houck, a Tulane professor who for years warned about the dangers of lax energy regulation.) As The Wall Street Journal recently noted, “Mr. Lazarus has made a career out of suing private companies and governments to impose stricter environmental regulation.”

Commission member Frances Beinecke is the president of the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC). In 2008 Beinecke said, “Offshore drilling is a needless risk, and there are better solutions to provide efficient, clean energy for America’s future.” Under her leadership, the NRDC launched a campaign to move America away from oil, and has already called for a “time out” for offshore drilling.