Alaska Wilderness League: Obama ignores facts and continues to give green light to Arctic drilling

Press Release
President Obama ignores facts and continues to give green light to Arctic drilling
Statement from Cindy Shogan, Executive Director, Alaska Wilderness League
March 28, 2012

“Today’s announcement that the Obama administration has approved Shell’s oil spill response plan
for the Arctic’s Beaufort Sea, following on the tail of the approval of Shell’s spill response plan for
the Arctic’s Chukchi Sea, is extremely disappointing. There is no viable way to clean up an oil spill in
the extreme conditions of America’s Arctic Ocean, yet the Obama administration continues to give
the green light to Shell Oil’s plans for drilling this summer. We can only hope that President Obama
shows the leadership he promised and refuses to bow to the demands of Big Oil by not granting
Shell the final permits it needs to begin drilling in July.

The Arctic Ocean is prone to hurricane-force storms, 20-foot swells, sea ice up to 25 feet thick, subzero
temperatures and months-long darkness. What’s more, the Arctic has extremely limited
infrastructure (there are no roads or deep water ports and only a handful of small airports) and the
nearest Coast Guard station is 1,000 miles away. These conditions and the current lack of
information and technology combine to make Arctic drilling tantamount to ‘Mission Impossible.’

At a recent meeting in Alaska, officials with the international Arctic Council noted that Arctic
nations are not ready to respond to an Arctic oil spill. ‘In terms of getting the tug equipment there
[to a spill in the Arctic] or in the Aleutians, we are naked in the north,’ said Alaska’s Lieutenant
Governor Mead Treadwell, according to KTVA.com.

Meanwhile, the oil industry continues to remind us that drilling is a dangerous and dirty business.
Today the news out of Britain is grim as the gas spill in the North Sea enters its fourth day.
According to news reports, an enormous gas cloud is spewing from the ‘well from hell’ and there is
extreme danger of a massive explosion. It could take six months to fully stop the leak.

The gas spill in the North Sea and other recent disasters – including a recent natural gas blowout in
Alaska - remind us that the risks are too great, particularly in places like the Arctic where the
challenges are foreboding. If President Obama fails to stop Shell from drilling in America’s Arctic
Ocean he could be left with the next major drilling disaster on his hands and the destruction of one
of our planet’s most vital ecosystems.”

http://www.alaskawild.org/wp-content/uploads/2012_03_28_Obama_ignores_facts_green_light_drilling.pdf


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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 28, 2012
CONTACT: Center for Biological Diversity
Feds Approve Weak Oil-spill Response Plan in Arctic; Move Toward Offshore Drilling Off Virginia

SAN FRANCISCO - March 28 - Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced approval today of Shell Oil’s oil-spill response plan for offshore drilling in the Beaufort Sea off Alaska. At the same time, the secretary announced plans to move forward with seismic exploratory surveys for oil in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Virginia. Both announcements move these areas that have largely been closed to offshore drilling closer to becoming industrial oil fields.

“It’s deeply disappointing that President Obama is choosing to ignore the enormous risks of opening the Arctic Ocean to oil drilling,” said Miyoko Sakashita, oceans director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “All signs point to environmental disaster if an oil spill were to occur in the harsh Arctic waters — it’s just absurd that Shell’s unproven response plan got the green light.”

The unrealistic oil spill plan claims that 95% of oil spilled could be recovered when only 3% of oil was recovered in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon spill. Drilling in the extreme conditions of the Arctic Ocean could put human lives and wildlife at risk; so far, testing of oil-spill response in the area has proven a failure, the containment cap in the plan is untested, and the nearest Coast Guard station is 1,000 miles away. The Arctic is home to the most pristine ocean habitat in the world for polar bears, whales and walruses.

Earlier this year, Shell Oil sued the Center and other environmental organizations, asking the court to declare that its oil-spill response plan for the Chukchi Sea was adequate — a move seemingly aimed at intimidating organizations opposing Shell’s plans to drill in the Arctic this summer.

The government today also announced plans to conduct seismic surveys along the Atlantic coast in hopes of finding oil deposits that could lead to leasing Atlantic waters for offshore drilling. The seismic surveys pave the way for new drilling.

“Seismic surveys are, in and of themselves, very harmful to marine life. The blasts are like explosions that can cause hearing loss, disturbance and even stranding for animals like whales,” said Sakashita. “And besides hurting marine animals, these exploratory surveys are the gateway to more risky drilling.”

The Center and its allies are part of a pending lawsuit challenging seismic surveys for oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico that were approved without the permits needed under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and Endangered Species Act.
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At the Center for Biological Diversity, we believe that the welfare of human beings is deeply linked to nature - to the existence in our world of a vast diversity of wild animals and plants. Because diversity has intrinsic value, and because its loss impoverishes society, we work to secure a future for all species, great and small, hovering on the brink of extinction. We do so through science, law, and creative media, with a focus on protecting the lands, waters, and climate that species need to survive.

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2012/03/28-7


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Obama Admin Takes Steps Towards More Oil Drilling
Shell's oil spill plan for Beaufort Sea drilling approved, seismic surveys for oil off east coast get OK
by Common Dreams staff
March 28, 2012

The Obama administration has taken steps towards increased oil drilling today in Alaska and off the east coat. It approved Shell's oil spill response plan for the Arctic waters of the Beaufort Sea, a move slammed by environmental groups who warn of a likely environmental catastophe if Shell is given its final permits. The administration also allowed today seismic exploratory surveys for oil off the coast of Virginia in the Atlantic Ocean.

Shell's oil spill plan suggests little likelihood of a blowout and calls for a containment device like the one used in the Deepwater Horizon blowout to be clamped onto the well in the event that Shell's built-in blowout preventer failed.

"If Shell goes there to drill, they will kill the Arctic Ocean along the way—we must fight and stop them," says Subhankar Banerjee, founder of ClimateStoryTellers.org.

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/03/28-8