Additional protections needed for fragile Arctic waters
Summary:
- Peter Voser, CEO of Royal Dutch Shell, is reported today to have announced that the oil giant has abandoned plans for exploratory drilling in Alaska’s Beaufort Sea in 2011.
- Despite the lack of infrastructure and cleanup technology that make oil spill response in the Arctic unfeasible, Shell intends to resume drilling plans for the Beaufort Sea in 2012.
- Defenders urges the Obama administration to carefully scrutinize Shell’s proposal, rather than rubber-stamp drilling operations. Such scrutiny is not only warranted by the risk of the undertaking, but is required by law.
The following is a statement by Richard Charter, senior policy advisor for marine programs at Defenders of Wildlife:
“High risk offshore drilling in America's Arctic Ocean cannot be considered a responsible course until we learn to clean up the inevitable oil spills in the region's prevailing darkness, severe storms and broken sea ice, and until we have a Coast Guard presence closer than a thousand miles away.
“In the lingering aftermath of the BP Gulf spill catastrophe, and a similar shallow-water rig blowout in Australia, we simply cannot afford to invite an even worse disaster in the Arctic Ocean.”
Learn more about the threats offshore drilling poses to the Arctic.
Contact(s):
Richard Charter, (707) 875-2345Caitlin Leutwiler, (202) 772-3226, cleutwiler@defenders.org
For over 75 years, Defenders of Wildlife has remained dedicated to protecting all native animals and plants in their natural communities. With a nationwide network of nearly 2.1 million members and activists, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard our wildlife for generations to come. To learn more, please visit https://defenders.org/newsroom or follow us on X @Defenders.
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