Major environmental victory for the arctic seaby | 28-02-2014 18:20 |
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 Early February this year, I had received many letters from the environmental groups similar in contents to the following: Dear Alberta, I'm writing to share some news and to say a big thanks to you and over 33,500 other activists who have lent their voice to this important issue. Together, we're celebrating a step forward for protecting the health of Alaska's pristine waters. This week, in a major victory for Alaska's wildlife and people, Royal Dutch Shell announced it will cease plans to drill in the Alaskan Arctic this summer. Shell's decision comes on the heels of a court ruling that the Department of the Interior had failed to consider all environmental impacts of the exploration in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas when it gave Shell permission to drill. Your messgae telling the US government they should not expose Arctic communities and wildlife to the risk of oil spills like the Deepwater Horizon disaster was heard and it's making a real difference in our continued fight to protect the environment. Learn what this news means for Alaska and the people and wildlife that live there. We hope you will share the victory with your friends and family. US Marine Program World Wildlife Fund The Arctic seas are home to the entire US polar bear population and walrus, and migration routes to the bowhead and beluga whales. Shell has been minimizing the risks of drilling which will affect the environment and climate. The managing director of the WWF US-Arctic Program, Margaret Williams addresses, "Arctic offshore drilling is fraught with dangers that defy rational economic development.Shell?s decision to abandon efforts to drill in this remote and extreme environment in 2014 means that Alaskan communities and wildlife will be able to go at least another year without the added threat of spills from exploratory drilling. Shell's decision should reignite the discussion about the future of drilling in America?s Arctic Ocean. Just two days ago, President Obama called for our nation to move toward a clean, renewable energy future. We need to question how expanding the search for fossil fuels in the pristine Arctic impacts that vision." Shell's decision to stop drilling in Arctic seas is temporary relief at the moment though it is a huge victory on the environmental groups in the U.S. The threat still stays. I hope the U.S. government probes the situation rather than taking the industry's claims of safety and needs of drilling in Arctic seas. According to the environmental experts, the best scenario is making U.S. government to cancel the lease sales scheduled for year 2016 and 2017. One decision will have an huge effect on the generation to come. Image: google image Source: WWF.org, the guardian, the huffington post, etc. |
