Labor Day is celebrated by many families in the United States as the last day of summer vacation, the last day to hit the beach before school begins. On this day of beach celebration, however, it’s worth remembering that America’s beaches are being put at risk by two presidential candidates.

In spite of the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama support expanded offshore drilling for oil and natural gas. With every additional offshore drilling rig that’s placed in America’s waters, the likelihood of crude oil washing up onto America’s beaches increases.

As we saw in the Gulf of Mexico, when oil spews from offshore drilling operations, there isn’t very much that either the oil industry or the government can do to stop it from coming ashore. In fact, oil from the BP oil spill is still washing up on Louisiana shores. This very weekend, pelicans soaked in crude oil have been found on the Louisiana coast.

It isn’t just an American problem, of course. Our world’s dependence on fossil fuels is making it a filthy place to live. Down in Cape Town, South Africa, oil from a wrecked tanker has coated the skin of children playing on a local beach this weekend.