Urgent: Save the Arctic Ocean from drilling

Happy Monday morning to all my friends of Katalusis,

We human beings are accountable for protecting the lives of each of the birds, bees, and beasts on this planet. Those birds, bees, and beasts need our protection from the ravages of reckless oil and gas drilling as well as all other humankind assaults on their habitats. And let us never forget that each time a species is destroyed, the quality of life for all of us is diminished.

The email pasted below from Josh Nelson at CREDO provides an opportunity for you to quickly and easily do your part on behalf of our wildlife.

Urgent: Save the Arctic Ocean from drilling
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Josh Nelson, CREDO Action	Mon, Aug 11, 2014 at 8:24 AM
Reply-To: "Josh Nelson, CREDO Action" To: Virginia Bergman
Tell the Obama Administration: Stop reckless oil companies from drilling in the Arctic Submit a public comment telling the Obama administration not to allow any Arctic drilling in its 2017-2022 oil and gas leasing program. Dear Virginia, Right now the Obama administration is deciding whether to allow future oil and gas drilling in the Arctic Ocean. The administration has a crucial choice to make: It could give the green light to reckless oil drilling companies, like Shell and ConocoPhillips, or it could decide to protect our planet and our precious wildlife like walruses, arctic foxes and arctic seals by keeping the Arctic off limits. This decision will impact the Arctic Ocean for generations to come, so it’s critical that the administration gets it right and protects the Arctic from dangerous fossil fuel drilling. This crucial public comment period closes this week, so we need to fight back now. Tell the Obama administration: No Arctic drilling! Submit a public comment now. The Arctic is warming at twice the rate of the rest of the planet, which is already making it difficult for precious birds and marine species to survive. Offshore oil and gas drilling is a bad idea anywhere -- but it’s worse in the Arctic because no proven technology exists to clean up oil spills in icy waters. Big Oil companies like Shell and ConocoPhillips want to drill every last drop of oil in the Arctic. But Shell has already proven with its mishaps that Arctic drilling is far too risky, and that the company is hopelessly outmatched by the extreme conditions in the Arctic. Shell and ConocoPhillips are already lobbying the Obama administration behind the scenes. But if thousands of us demand that the administration say no to new leasing for gas and oil, we can provide a powerful counterpoint to their oil-soaked lobbyists. We only have a few days until this crucial public comment period closes. Please submit your public comment now telling the Obama administration not to allow dangerous oil and gas drilling in the Arctic Ocean. Tell the Obama administration: No Arctic drilling! Click the link below to submit a public comment: http://act.credoaction.com/sign/stop_arctic_drilling?t=5&akid=11390.4080287.sSg2IF Thanks for fighting to stop dangerous oil and gas drilling in the Arctic. Josh Nelson, Campaign Manager CREDO Action from Working Assets Add your name: Learn more about this campaign

Tell Pres. Obama: Don't let Shell drill in the Arctic!

Shell rig on its way to Arctic.

From Credo’s Elija Zarlin:

Dear Virginia,

Right now, Shell's Kulluk drilling rig is getting towed up the Pacific Coast to the Arctic.¹

The Arctic has never been drilled for oil, not even under President George W. Bush. But at the end of March, the Obama Administration approved Shell Oil's inadequate spill plan for the Beaufort Sea.²

Drilling in these pristine waters could begin as soon as this summer. This is the eleventh hour.

But President Obama still has to approve the final Permit to Drill — and a decision could come by the end of this month.

Tell the Obama Administration: Don't let Shell drill in the Arctic. Click here to sign the petition.

The Arctic's Beaufort and Chukchi seas are like nurseries of the earth — providing crucial breeding ground and food supply for countless species of wildlife. Upsetting this habitat would have broad ripples through the wildlife food chain literally across the globe.

Almost exactly two years after the devastating Deepwater Horizon spill, the impacts are still being felt by the Gulf Coast and Gulf marine life. In many ways, we still don't understand the long term damage caused by the massive volume of spilled oil and toxic dispersants.

In his State of the Union address earlier this year, President Obama promised: "I will not back down from making sure an oil company can contain the kind of oil spill we saw in the Gulf two years ago."

But there is still no proven way to clean up an oil spill in the extreme arctic environment — which includes hurricane force storms, 20-foot swells, pervasive sea ice, low temperatures and months of darkness.³

It's not late for Obama to call off Shell's drill bits. Tell Obama: Stand up to Big Oil and protect the Arctic. Click here to automatically sign the petition.

President Obama says his energy plan is "all-of-the-above."

But between pushing the southern, export portion of the Keystone XL Pipeline, and now opening the Arctic to drill for oil that won't do anything to reduce gas prices,⁴ it seems a whole lot more like President Obama's energy plan is "oil-above-all."

President Obama needs to stand up to pressure from the oil industry, and admit what we all know: Drilling in the Arctic is a terrible, misguided idea, that's just not worth the risk to this one-of-a-kind area, or the damage we know it will do to our climate. Click below to automatically sign the petition below:
http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=5546424&id=38375-4150669-PVvP3Kx&t=10

Thanks for working to move us past oil drilling.

Elijah Zarlin, Campaign Manager
CREDO Action from Working Assets

1. "New era in Alaska drilling looms," LA Times, March 4, 2012
2. "Shell Wins 'Safety' Permit From Obama Administration To Start Dangerous Drilling In Arctic Seas ," Think Progress, March 28, 2012
3. "Arctic "should remain off-limits to drilling"," Oil Change International, Feburary 6, 2012
4. "U.S. drilling won't lower gas prices, study shows," Associated Press, March 22, 2012

A plea for help from the Alaska Wilderness League

The Deepwater Horizon offshore oil drilling rig is engulfed in flames before eventually sinking. US  Coast Guard photo taken on Wed. April 21. Public domain.

 

The biggest threat to the global environment has to be the proliferation of nuclear power plants, think Fukushima, and the continued expansion of offshore drilling – remember the Gulf oil spill? In the meantime corporate greed delays development of readily available solar and wind power.

The Obama Administration is waffling again on offshore drilling. Read this letter I just received from the Alaska Wilderness League and take a minute to join me in voicing your protest:

Dear Virginia,

After last year’s BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, President Obama stood before the American people and promised safer, cleaner offshore drilling. But just a couple weeks ago, a draft plan for offshore oil and gas drilling in U.S. waters over the next five years was released by the Obama administration that includes potential drilling in America’s pristine and fragile Arctic Ocean - despite the fact that there’s no proven way to clean up a spill in the Arctic’s extreme, remote conditions. This rush to drill in America’s Arctic Ocean fails to meet President Obama’s promises. Instead, it looks a lot like the fast and loose decision making of the past.

Now, President Obama has asked for your input on his first offshore drilling program before it becomes final. When it comes to the Arctic, the president’s proposed draft plan can be only be characterized as business as usual – but there’s still time to make our voices heard. Speak out now and tell President Obama to keep Arctic drilling out of the final version.

Will you sign our letter asking President Obama to leave the Arctic out of the final offshore drilling program?

Drilling in the Arctic is extremely risky because of pervasive sea ice, 20-foot swells, hurricane-force winds, months-long darkness and more. The truth is that no technology exists to clean up a spill in these “Mission Impossible” conditions – and Coast Guard officials have described their response capability in the Arctic as “starting from zero.” A spill would devastate the many species that rely on the Arctic Ocean to survive - including polar bears, birds and whales, as well as the Inupiat people of Alaska’s Arctic coast

If President Obama rubber stamps this risky offshore Arctic drilling scheme, he could have the next major oil spill disaster, and the devastation of a marine ecosystem that is vital to health of our planet, on his hands. But if we all speak out together, we can make sure he hears our call for offshore drilling plan that meets his promises of safer, cleaner offshore drilling and doesn’t include risky Arctic drilling. The American people expect real change – not business as usual.

Will you speak out for polar bears and ask President Obama to leave the Arctic out of the final offshore drilling program?

Thanks for all you do.

Cindy Shogan
Executive Director
Alaska Wilderness League