"What Climate Crisis?" Obama Administration Approves
Arctic Drilling
Here's the latest troubling evidence of
President Obama's climate disconnect: This week the U.S. Department of the
Interior approved Shell's plan for exploratory oil drilling in Alaska's Chukchi
Sea, which could begin this summer.Not only does this plan put the Arctic's pristine landscapes at huge risk for oil spills and industrial development; it's also utterly incompatible with President Obama's rhetoric about the need to tackle the climate crisis.
"It's deeply troubling to see the Obama administration give the oil industry the green light to drill in the Arctic," said Rebecca Noblin, the Center's Alaska director. "The Interior Department bent over backward to rush Shell's permit through the regulatory process so it could move its drillships into the Arctic this summer. Considering Shell ran its drillship aground in Alaska in 2012, it's hard to fathom how the federal government can rationalize rubber-stamping Shell's second try at Arctic drilling."
Here's The Onion's take on the latest developments -- and, if you're in Seattle this weekend, we'd love to see you at this rally against Arctic drilling. Read more in the Los Angeles Times.
President
Obama — Don't Risk an Arctic Oil Disaster that Could Kill Polar Bears and Whales
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The Obama administration set us
on a course for disaster when it approved Shell's reckless scheme to drill in
the fragile Arctic Ocean this summer.
Polar bears, walruses, and whales are just
a few of the spectacular creatures that call the Arctic's frozen landscape
home. Oil drilling has no place in this fragile habitat. An oil soaked
polar bear can lose its insulation and freeze and drown. Seismic testing can
disturb and confuse whales and other species that use sonar to survive. All
creatures rely on clean air and water.
To make matters worse, Shell has a
shockingly terrible safety record. Two of its ships have run aground
and just last month another one of its drilling ships, which is sailing towards
the Arctic right now, failed its Coast Guard Inspection.
It couldn't be more clear: Shell has no
business in the Arctic. Sign the urgent petition
now and demand President Obama stop Shell from drilling in the Arctic Ocean!
An oil spill in the freezing and dangerous waters
of the Arctic would be nearly impossible to clean up and could be even more
devastating than the deadly 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. With Shell's
record of dangerous errors, it's not a question of if but when
a spill will happen.
Unless we act right now, Shell could be
drilling — and polluting — the pristine Arctic within weeks.
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| "Irresponsible & Reckless": Environmentalists Decry Obama’s Approval for Shell Drilling in Arctic |
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| Seattle Mobilizes to Shut Down Shell Operations to Protest Arctic Oil Drilling |
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We just got word that the Polar Pioneer, part of Shell’s
Arctic drilling armada, is approaching Seattle. Thousands of Seattle citizens
concerned about the risks of Arctic Ocean drilling have not only protested the
companies use of Seattle’s port(1), but are now making final preparations to
“unwelcome” the oil giant’s fleet this weekend.
The Polar Pioneer is arriving just days after the Obama administration gave approval to Shell’s exploration plans. Yet, citizens across the country are speaking out against Shell’s ludicrous march to drill in America’s Arctic Ocean, where our government’s own studies show a 75% chance of an oil spill if leases are developed in the Chukchi Sea. Add your voice!
It’s not too late. Shell has numerous hurdles it must still jump over. Tell President Obama to uphold his commitment to fighting climate change by keeping Shell out of the Arctic.
Seattle's fight shows why Alaska Wilderness League supporters across the country are so important. Because what happens to the public lands and waters in Alaska matters to all of us. We all have a stake. And we can all raise our voices and demand that our leaders make choices that protect our wilderness heritage.
By now we all remember Shell’s disastrous 2012 Arctic campaign which
culminated with the grounding of its Kulluk drill rig. Also in 2012 the
Noble Discoverer – with 16 safety and environmental violations –
slipped an anchor, nearly ran aground itself and then caught fire.
Well just a month ago, the Coast Guard held the Noble Discoverer in Honolulu so engineers could repair one of the SAME devices that was broken in 2012! Even eight felony convictions were not enough to force Shell’s contractors to get it right.
Add your voice to the momentum building against Arctic drilling. Please sign the petition to President Obama and urge him to keep Shell out of the Arctic Ocean.
The Polar Pioneer is arriving just days after the Obama administration gave approval to Shell’s exploration plans. Yet, citizens across the country are speaking out against Shell’s ludicrous march to drill in America’s Arctic Ocean, where our government’s own studies show a 75% chance of an oil spill if leases are developed in the Chukchi Sea. Add your voice!
It’s not too late. Shell has numerous hurdles it must still jump over. Tell President Obama to uphold his commitment to fighting climate change by keeping Shell out of the Arctic.
Seattle's fight shows why Alaska Wilderness League supporters across the country are so important. Because what happens to the public lands and waters in Alaska matters to all of us. We all have a stake. And we can all raise our voices and demand that our leaders make choices that protect our wilderness heritage.
Well just a month ago, the Coast Guard held the Noble Discoverer in Honolulu so engineers could repair one of the SAME devices that was broken in 2012! Even eight felony convictions were not enough to force Shell’s contractors to get it right.
Add your voice to the momentum building against Arctic drilling. Please sign the petition to President Obama and urge him to keep Shell out of the Arctic Ocean.
See How Close Oil Drilling Will Get to Arctic Whales This Summer. The region where Shell plans to sink wells is home to polar bears, walruses, seals, and other wildlife.
Shell Oil received good news on Monday, when the Obama administration announced conditional approval of Shell’s plan for exploratory oil drilling in the Arctic Ocean in the summer.
The move gives the company six potential oil well sites in the Chukchi Sea to investigate. The lease area sits about 85 miles northwest of the town of Wainwright, off Alaska’s northern coast.
In the wake of Shell’s mishap-laden 2012 Arctic summer drilling season, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which oversees offshore oil and gas extraction, has beefed up safety requirements.
But environmental advocates have criticized the Obama administration for renewing Shell’s permit, saying that no safety requirements can measure up to the tough Arctic conditions in this remote area or prevent a potential oil spill from harming wildlife.
The region’s east-flowing ocean currents might carry spilled oil to a protected marine area named Hanna Shoal, just 55 miles northeast of Shell’s lease area, where icy waters provide important habitat for whales, endangered polar bears, ice seals, and Pacific walruses. The coastal tundra of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, about 450 miles east of the lease area, is also prime habitat for polar bears, ice seals, migratory water birds, and caribou.
Growing noise levels and vessel traffic from energy prospecting are also threats to the region’s whales. Gray whales swim the waters of the Chukchi Sea year-round. Bowhead whales migrate east along the Chukchi coast in late spring, then back across open Chukchi waters in the fall. Beluga whales migrate through this part of the sea from May to September and raise young along the coast, directly south of the drilling sites.
Many of these animals are part of the traditional Native Alaskan diet. Under the BOEM-approved plan, Shell is supposed to coordinate its operations with coastal villages so that their hunts will not be disrupted, and to make special effort not to disrupt Pacific walruseswhen they are abundant near or on the coast in late summer.
As part of BOEM’s revised safety requirements, Shell must keep a second drill rig no farther than 1,200 miles from its main drilling site. The additional platform would be at the ready to sink a relief well in case of a blowout similar to the 2010 explosion of BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico.
Shell must also cease drilling between Sept. 24 and Sept. 28, about one month before the expected return of autumn sea ice.
A recent study found that to fend off the worst impacts ofclimate change, all Arctic oil and gas must be left in the ground and unburned. But in addition to green-lighting some Arctic Ocean areas for drilling, the Obama administration has proposed opening up several sites off theAtlantic coast to energy extraction.
We're about to lose the Arctic.
President Obama green-lighted Shell's plans to drill in the Arctic Ocean. While this is the closest Shell has gotten, they still need permits and we’re doing everything we can to stop them from getting the final go-ahead.
We can't gamble with our most precious and pristine wild places. Once they're destroyed, there's no turning back. Please make an urgent gift to the Sierra Club now to save the Arctic, the Atlantic coast and all wildlife through our effective, citizen-based advocacy and lobbying efforts.
On the Hill, at every public hearing and in every court, before national and local editorial boards—we’re going to outnumber, out-message, and out-organize Big Oil every step of the way. But we can't do it without you.
President Obama green-lighted Shell's plans to drill in the Arctic Ocean. While this is the closest Shell has gotten, they still need permits and we’re doing everything we can to stop them from getting the final go-ahead.
We can't gamble with our most precious and pristine wild places. Once they're destroyed, there's no turning back. Please make an urgent gift to the Sierra Club now to save the Arctic, the Atlantic coast and all wildlife through our effective, citizen-based advocacy and lobbying efforts.
On the Hill, at every public hearing and in every court, before national and local editorial boards—we’re going to outnumber, out-message, and out-organize Big Oil every step of the way. But we can't do it without you.
Devastating news: late Monday, President Obama gave Shell Oil conditional
approval to start drilling in the pristine Arctic Ocean this
summer.
Shell Oil, the same company that promised it could drill safely in Arctic waters in 2012… and then proceeded to run drilling rigs aground, fail safety tests and experience countless equipment failures and accidents.
This approval gives Shell 99% of what it needs to re-start this disastrous drilling. But they still need permits in the Arctic.
I know this news is deeply maddening. But the worst response to this moment is giving up. Take your frustration and anger, and help us hold the line. Because this fight is not over yet:
Donate now to save the Arctic, the Atlantic and all wildlife we hold so dear from Big Oil's drills.
There is no such thing as safe drilling, especially in the Arctic Ocean. Treacherous icy waters make oil clean up essentially impossible.
Just one major spill there could permanently destroy one of our planet's last, pristine wilderness areas.
This is urgent—and we need your help now. Every dollar makes our campaign to fight back stronger. We'll use every avenue at our disposal—legal appeals, public protests, insider-lobbying—whatever it takes. None of this work can happen without your support.
We've seen what happens when our campaigns get the resources needed to fight hard. Look at how many retirements of coal-burning powered plants we've secured in the last five years—189!
That same powerful, effective, people-powered campaigning can protect wildlife in the Arctic, along the Atlantic coast, and other wild places. Give now so that we have the resources to go as many rounds as it takes.
There is no more urgent moment to give:
Shell is now a hair's breadth away from drilling in the Arctic… the final Keystone XL decision hangs in the balance… and gray wolves are facing a potential loss of critical protections… we must show Big Oil and the Obama administration that we're a force to be reckoned with.
With 2.4 million members and supporters like you on our side, Sierra Club has been leading the charge, fighting to save whales, wolves, and grizzlies—and our most treasured wilderness areas like the Arctic—from dirty fuels and other environmental foes.
Make an urgent gift now, to help go toe to toe with Big Oil from coast to coast.
Thank you for fighting hard until the last day—we're not letting up, and we're so grateful you aren't either.
Shell Oil, the same company that promised it could drill safely in Arctic waters in 2012… and then proceeded to run drilling rigs aground, fail safety tests and experience countless equipment failures and accidents.
This approval gives Shell 99% of what it needs to re-start this disastrous drilling. But they still need permits in the Arctic.
I know this news is deeply maddening. But the worst response to this moment is giving up. Take your frustration and anger, and help us hold the line. Because this fight is not over yet:
Donate now to save the Arctic, the Atlantic and all wildlife we hold so dear from Big Oil's drills.
There is no such thing as safe drilling, especially in the Arctic Ocean. Treacherous icy waters make oil clean up essentially impossible.
Just one major spill there could permanently destroy one of our planet's last, pristine wilderness areas.
This is urgent—and we need your help now. Every dollar makes our campaign to fight back stronger. We'll use every avenue at our disposal—legal appeals, public protests, insider-lobbying—whatever it takes. None of this work can happen without your support.
We've seen what happens when our campaigns get the resources needed to fight hard. Look at how many retirements of coal-burning powered plants we've secured in the last five years—189!
That same powerful, effective, people-powered campaigning can protect wildlife in the Arctic, along the Atlantic coast, and other wild places. Give now so that we have the resources to go as many rounds as it takes.
There is no more urgent moment to give:
Shell is now a hair's breadth away from drilling in the Arctic… the final Keystone XL decision hangs in the balance… and gray wolves are facing a potential loss of critical protections… we must show Big Oil and the Obama administration that we're a force to be reckoned with.
With 2.4 million members and supporters like you on our side, Sierra Club has been leading the charge, fighting to save whales, wolves, and grizzlies—and our most treasured wilderness areas like the Arctic—from dirty fuels and other environmental foes.
Make an urgent gift now, to help go toe to toe with Big Oil from coast to coast.
Thank you for fighting hard until the last day—we're not letting up, and we're so grateful you aren't either.
Right now, Shell’s drilling rigs are getting ready to head to the Arctic
Ocean, where they are set to begin drilling for oil when the ice thaws this
summer. And just yesterday, the federal government approved Shell's
Arctic Exploration Plan.
This is the closest we’ve ever been to an Arctic environmental catastrophe.
We must act now. Send a message to President Obama to stop Shell from destroying the Arctic and our climate before it’s too late.
This is not the time to drill for more oil. It is not just the Arctic. Seen the headlines lately? Drought is ravaging California, storms are raging in the Pacific, and polar ice levels are at record lows. All of these are connected directly to climate change caused chiefly by the burning of fossil fuels.
In fact, a study in the journal Nature found that in order for us to avoid the 2 degree temperature rise that scientists say will lead to catastrophic climate change, we need to keep all Arctic oil in the ground.
This is why President Obama needs to rescind Shell’s drilling permit. In the past, he has responded to public pressure, and has spoken strongly on climate change. But we know he won’t act unless he hears from you.
Urge President Obama to save the Arctic and protect our climate by canceling Shell’s Arctic drilling permits.
Amazingly, Shell is so close to being able to drill in the Arctic despite the fact that, if it finds and extracts oil, the likelihood of a large spill is 75%. Which means the habitat for countless vulnerable species, including migratory bird and polar bears, is at risk.
We’ve made this a big deal. Shell wanted to drill in the Arctic quietly. But a mass global movement of people like you has already put Shell on the defensive. To win, we will need more people, more passion, and more creativity.
Click to join half a million others and send a strong message that we will not stand for Shell’s dirty, dangerous drilling in the precious Arctic ocean.
Any time something urgent happens and there's an opportunity to take action, we'll make sure you're the first to know.
This is the closest we’ve ever been to an Arctic environmental catastrophe.
We must act now. Send a message to President Obama to stop Shell from destroying the Arctic and our climate before it’s too late.
This is not the time to drill for more oil. It is not just the Arctic. Seen the headlines lately? Drought is ravaging California, storms are raging in the Pacific, and polar ice levels are at record lows. All of these are connected directly to climate change caused chiefly by the burning of fossil fuels.
In fact, a study in the journal Nature found that in order for us to avoid the 2 degree temperature rise that scientists say will lead to catastrophic climate change, we need to keep all Arctic oil in the ground.
This is why President Obama needs to rescind Shell’s drilling permit. In the past, he has responded to public pressure, and has spoken strongly on climate change. But we know he won’t act unless he hears from you.
Urge President Obama to save the Arctic and protect our climate by canceling Shell’s Arctic drilling permits.
Amazingly, Shell is so close to being able to drill in the Arctic despite the fact that, if it finds and extracts oil, the likelihood of a large spill is 75%. Which means the habitat for countless vulnerable species, including migratory bird and polar bears, is at risk.
We’ve made this a big deal. Shell wanted to drill in the Arctic quietly. But a mass global movement of people like you has already put Shell on the defensive. To win, we will need more people, more passion, and more creativity.
Click to join half a million others and send a strong message that we will not stand for Shell’s dirty, dangerous drilling in the precious Arctic ocean.
Any time something urgent happens and there's an opportunity to take action, we'll make sure you're the first to know.
This is not a drill – the Arctic Ocean is at risk.
Just two days ago, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management took a big step toward making offshore oil and gas exploration in the U.S. Arctic Ocean off Alaska’s northern coast a reality – as early as THIS SUMMER.
If it allows Shell to pursue its drilling ambitions, the government will expose the Arctic Ocean to the risk of a BP Deepwater Horizon-like catastrophe.
But there’s still time, and our campaign is working on overdrive to block Shell from repeating its failed 2012 Arctic exploration season. Will you support our work?
Make a $10 or more donation now to support Oceana’s work to protect the Arctic Ocean from dangerous offshore drilling >>
We can’t let offshore drilling and oil spills become the new normal for the Arctic Ocean.
The government can still prevent this grave threat to the U.S. Arctic Ocean and the beluga whales, polar bears, ice seals and many other important marine animals that depend on it. With your support, our Arctic campaign has so far helped protect these waters by seizing opportunities like this one.
Oceana is a leading force in protecting the U.S. Arctic Ocean. From producing exclusive reports and filing winning lawsuits to being featured in The New York Times, we’re in this fight no matter the cost. Together, let’s find a way to win, again!
Just two days ago, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management took a big step toward making offshore oil and gas exploration in the U.S. Arctic Ocean off Alaska’s northern coast a reality – as early as THIS SUMMER.
If it allows Shell to pursue its drilling ambitions, the government will expose the Arctic Ocean to the risk of a BP Deepwater Horizon-like catastrophe.
But there’s still time, and our campaign is working on overdrive to block Shell from repeating its failed 2012 Arctic exploration season. Will you support our work?
Make a $10 or more donation now to support Oceana’s work to protect the Arctic Ocean from dangerous offshore drilling >>
We can’t let offshore drilling and oil spills become the new normal for the Arctic Ocean.
The government can still prevent this grave threat to the U.S. Arctic Ocean and the beluga whales, polar bears, ice seals and many other important marine animals that depend on it. With your support, our Arctic campaign has so far helped protect these waters by seizing opportunities like this one.
Oceana is a leading force in protecting the U.S. Arctic Ocean. From producing exclusive reports and filing winning lawsuits to being featured in The New York Times, we’re in this fight no matter the cost. Together, let’s find a way to win, again!
