US Government Allows Exploratory Offshore Drilling in Alaska

Environmentalists have been encouraged by many actions of the Obama administration, especially moves to restrict mountain top removal mining and limit industrial carbon emissions that have been linked to global warming.

However, a recent a move by the the Minerals Management Service, part of the federal Department of the Interior, to allow the Shell Oil Company to begin drilling exploratory oil wells in the environmentally-sensitive Beaufort Sea is giving some conservationists flash backs to the Bush administration.

According to a report by the Guardian UK, the MMS “gave Shell the green light to begin exploratory wells off the north coast of Alaska in an Arctic area that is home to large numbers of endangered bowhead whales and polar bears, as well as walruses, ice seals and other species. The permission would run from July to October next year, though Shell has promised to suspend operations from its drill ship from late August when local Inuit people embark on subsistence hunting.”

During the Bush era, the possibility of allowing oil companies to drill in the Arctic was staunchly opposed by environmentalists who cited industrial levels of noise, air and water pollution as potential hazards to the endangered species who make their homes there.

“…Permission for exploration in the Beaufort Sea, widely condemned by environmentalists, was struck down last year by a federal court on grounds that it had failed sufficiently to consider the impacts on bowhead whales and the subsistence activities of Inuit populations. The ruling was later set aside and Shell withdrew its drilling plans” (Guardian UK).

While the permission granted recently only allows the international oil company to begin drilling exploratory wells, it sets a frightening precedent for what might be allowed to occur in the very near future. We all remember the Exxon Valdez oil spill that is still wreaking havoc in the Prince Edward Sound area of Alaska.

There are fears “that any drilling [in the Beaufort Sea] could lead to oil spills which would be impossible to clean up amid the Arctic’s broken sea ice.”

SIGN THE PETITION TO URGE CONGRESS TO PERMANENTLY PROTECT THE ARCTIC.

Image Credit: sandiegonewsroom.com

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Rebecca L.

1:42PM PDT on Oct 26, 2009

As much as the US, or any other country for that matter, likes to believe they "own" a piece of land... they are sadly mistaken. There are laws of nature that are above us all. Does a country "own" all of the endangered animals that call the land their home? I don't think so.

send a green star

Elizabeth M.

1:15PM PDT on Oct 26, 2009

ew! "drill baby drill?" really, robert s, how can you be so obtuse? and leave the good lord out of this one. somehow i don't think He approves of greed, pollution, and the killing of endangered animals, all of which the big oil regard as business as usual.

Charlene R.

7:52PM PDT on Oct 24, 2009

What type of a deal did Obama have to make, with whom, and for what purpose?

When Alaska is ruined, as we know it, it can never come back to its original condition.
Anyone who has been there, as I have, would not want to see its destruction.

I suggest to every U.S. citizen, please, do yourself a favor and take a cruise to Alaske.

Susan T.

10:09AM PDT on Oct 24, 2009

This is just like the auto emisions control in the 70's. Let the people do all the paying and work towards cleaning up the globe, when whatever happened to lets create some jobs by building wind turbines, solar panels and training others in maintenance. Yeah, some states are actually doing it, but you can bet the "out of workers" aren't getting a peice of that pie.

OK, Now show and tell me that I'm wrong! Big business strikes again.

Robert S.

9:39AM PDT on Oct 24, 2009

Ron M., I actually drive a 4 cylinder S-10 and sleep in a bed with my 3 dogs. I also believe that we have a right to use the natural resources that the good Lord has provided for us.
As for what site I'm on, I wasn't aware that that the comments were suppose to be one sided.

Past Member .

9:32AM PDT on Oct 24, 2009

Keep destroying the planet and eventually the planet will strike back and destroy all the people one way or another. We will be the cause of our own demise.

Merryl G.

7:27AM PDT on Oct 24, 2009

There are many things I like about Pres. Obama,but he has not lived up to my expectations on the environment. He has kept Salazar and has allowed a lot of Bush's policies to remain the same. The killing of the wolves in the West being one that really upsets me and turns my stomach!!

Diane T.

6:34AM PDT on Oct 24, 2009

Sad... No one seems to have common sense anymore.

Ron M.

6:19AM PDT on Oct 24, 2009

Drill baby drill heh Robert S. Do you have any clue what site you're on?

You must be one of those guys who sleeps in his SUV to protect that rather than wildlife!

Maria Teresa S.

10:21PM PDT on Oct 23, 2009

If the US moves towards depending more on solar energy rather than on oil, the rest of the world will take the lead from it.