Industry not ready for offshore drilling in treacherous waters
Shell drill rig grounded near Kokiak Island. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Zachary Painter)
As Royal Dutch Shell continues to make perfectly clear, industry is not prepared to safely explore for oil in the pristine waters of America’s Arctic. Shell’s Arctic operations have been called the “gold standard” of the oil industry and if this is the best they’ve got, the industry is not Arctic ready.
Beyond the arguments of the Arctic being a harsh, dangerous, infrastructure-less environment, the question remains, does it make economic sense to drill for oil in this remote region now for barrels of oil in 10 years? In 12 years, cars will be averaging 54.5 mpg. Energy efficiency and a growing renewable fuel market are also making headway. U.S. oil production hit its highest level in 20 years in 2012 and it is projected to increase an additional 14 percent this year—without the extreme oil of the Arctic. In 10 years, will Americans need the extreme oil of the Arctic that Shell is so desperately seeking?
What happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay in the Arctic. In addition to the potentially catastrophic local impacts, climate pollution from drilling in the region, especially black carbon emissions from the drill fleet accelerates Arctic warming and melting. Black carbon, which was reported this week to be the second-largest human contributor to climate change after CO2. It is even worse when this pollution is emitted in the Arctic where it has direct effects on ice.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar should take notice on his way out the door to Colorado that our country is done with lining the pockets of the oil industry and we do care about climate change and special places like the Arctic. Tens of thousands of our supporters have already written to the Secretary and President Obama this week. Our goal is 60,000.
Caution and concern goes beyond the environmental community. As the drill ships were being prepared to head north for the summer, Lloyd’s of London warned that offshore drilling in the Arctic would “constitute a unique and hard-to-manage risk.” The insurance giant also urged companies to “think carefully about the consequences of action” before exploring for oil in the region. Watching Shell's problems, Norwegian Statoil continues to defer its plans to drill in the Arctic Ocean, and French oil company Total SA ended the year by publicly calling Arctic drilling too risky for any company."
The Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition, a group of 45 Democratic congressional representatives, called for a formal investigation of the Kulluk incident in order to determine whether Shell should be allowed to continue drilling for oil in Alaskan waters. And my personal favorite quote; Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, said recently:
Oil companies keep saying they can conquer the Arctic, but the Arctic keeps disagreeing with the oil companies.
This week, former EPA administrator and the director of the White House Office of Energy and Climate Change policy under President Barack Obama Carol Browner and former Chief of Staff for President Clinton, John Podesta delivered a strong warning to stay out of the Arctic.
Secretary Salazar has called for a 60-day investigation into Shell’s 2012 Arctic operations and media reports say there is an ongoing criminal investigation into pollution related to their drilling vessels. The top dogs from U.S. environmental groups sent Salazar a letter last week requesting a time out. We can go on about rigs hitting shores and the numerous “free passes” the Administration has granted Shell. Now is the time for the President and his team to recognize that drilling in the Arctic now just does not make sense and poses too great a risk.
Meanwhile, our attorneys here at Earthjustice will continue to represent its clients in challenging flawed and unlawful oil and gas permits that put the Arctic Ocean, its wildlife and its people at risk. Our aim is to promote a clean energy future and protect the pristine American Arctic waters from harmful industrial activities in the short term with a long-term focus of conservation based on the best available science.
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Stop Arctic drilling Pres. Obama!
Destruction creates debt and that is what they want. There is no need for reserves in this country.If you're going to play hard ball with nature,nature will bite you back!
Destruction creates debt and that is what they want. There is no need for reserves in this country.If you're going to play hard ball with nature,nature will bite you back!
I'm very new to all this. However I know that my calling is to help the Earth and the creatures on it. That is all I want to do with my life. Travel the world making a difference. Of course I won't be able to do it alone. I can only hope that things work out for the best.
To President Obama I can only say this. We can not in any way, shape, or form afford to drill in the Arctic. Way too much is at risk if there is a spill. We have to much pollution as it is. We need to work together to stop any further pollution from happening and clean up as much of the pollution that has already been released onto our planet as we can. There is no reason why we can't go green. It would save us a lot of money, and isn't that what EVERYONE wants? Money? Why is this such a hard concept. Anyone with a brain and a set of eyes should be able to understand and see what needs to happen. You are the first colored president the U.S. has ever had. Make a difference. BE A REAL HERO. Stop all this pollution.
Environmental people for me, are chosen people. Nature speaks to them. So, if they say something is not right. I do not argue.
I have learned to listen to them. Today, I know rocks, trees and birds understand more than you and I.
We are to learn to live more naturally, so that we can enjoy nature, and nature keep us healthy.
I love Naturalists.
President Obama,
Thank you for speaking out about climate change and this calls for action.Please don't give permits to oil companies to drill in the Arctic.This pristine area has already been spoiled by the oil pipeline which has leaked and any offshore drilling would not be any safer. We could have enough energy in our country by alternative fuels that will give jobs to many people as well as help to solve the pollution problem. We also need a national and local transportation system that would get many cars off the road and reduce the need for gas. Electric cars would help also. Please help! Our planet is in crisis!
I have lost count of all the peptitions I have signed asking that drilling not be permitted in the Arctic. It is morally wrong to deprive wildlife of its habitat and humans of fresh water supplies. When will think of what we are leaving to the next generation as regards a healthy earth for all people and life?
The words written in the attached messages are All so Very True.
Get The picture!
Hey Shell Guys - how old are some of you now? Aren't you ready to trade in your industrial boats and drills for a Bingo card, flannel slippers and a nice recliner...retirement life really isn't that bad...really. No, no - really.
Stop the drilling in the Arctic.
Big oil still cannot safely conduct their business - deny them the opportunity to try again!
Please don't drill in the arctic. I don't think that we will get ahead and do better if we don't first treat our planet with respect.
Bravo
Anything the government is involved in anymore is a sham. How can they expect anyone to trust them? Drilling is about them making money. This is too obvious.
It is too dangerous and the costs, when an accident happens, will be too high. Drilling in the Arctic must be stopped!!!!!!
Dear Sirs or Madams!!! Do Not DRILL IN THE ARTIC!!!!! SAVE THE ARTIC FOR ALL !!!Stop enabling the destruction of the planet!!! !Lets Save the Planet!!!
Dear President Obama
As a citizen who voted for you in both elections I ask that you use the power of your office to stop any possibility of big oil companies drilling offshore in the Arctic waters.
As proven by what happened with BP in the gulf the oil companies have no clue what they are doing and they blatantly ignore the few rules, rarely enforced, put in place to keep them from doing irreparable harm. How is it that BP, a major oil company worth billions of dollars, resorted to going to the internet to ask every day citizens if they had a clue how to stop the millions of gallons of oil gushing into the sea? Because they put no thought into these possibilities, only into how much profit might be made. They don’t care how many lives and livelihoods they ruin, how many lands they ruin, how many species they decimate. If we continue to reward corporate interests, as we have big oil and the financial industry, for destroying our economy, our financial security then our future is indeed bleak and the future of our children worse.
It’s time to show more political courage in the promotion and support of more public transportation, more fuel efficient cars, cap and trade on carbon emissions. It’s time to realize that promoting more profits for savage corporate interests lessens the possibility that we will sustain this earth on which we all live.
Nancy L. Krause
If President Obama meant what he said in his 2nd inaugural address, he knows drilling in the arctic is wrong. Certainly wrong for future generations.
I don't have children. I'm not too worried about it, other than for nature's sake. God bless Mother Nature!
Don't let money change you!
O'jays full version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll3uipTO-4A
Dear President Obama,
Please don't disappoint us after we have supported you! Stop the drilling in the Arctic and save our environment for my children and grand children as well as your own! Show the country you do care!!!!!
STOP the insane need for profits by risking such an important place with such definite disaster. The clean up and ultimate damage to the Gulf is yet to be known...so why in the world would it be even considered in the Artic????????
I supported a President who says he loves the enviornment.....I hope that this is true.
Dear Mr. Salazar,
All i ask is that you try and learn from your past mistakes and realize that history tends to repeat itself.If one of the biggest economic disasters in history didn't open your eyes to the danger of drilling offshore then please, please, heed these letters and stop the drilling plans in the Arctic before its too late.
All any firm including the fossil fuel firms really needs is MONEY as in bottom line profits to distribute to shareholders as dividends. Everything else is mission statement and other window dressing. No firm really needs the privilege of being allowed to make a horrible mess of the environment, extracting, processing, and/or using fossil fuel. You need to make a credible promise to the fossil fuel firms that they will have as much income over the time it would take for them to sell their proven reserves with business as usual as they can reasonably expect to make over that time frame. The first big question is how much money can each firm reasonably expect to make? I believe the answer is however much physical quantity of fossil fuel the firm sold in whichever of the years 2010, 2011, or 2012, that firm sold the most times the average world market price of that mix of fossil fuel products in the year for which the expectation applies. If there ever ceases to be a world market price for fossil fuel, it will be necessary to substitute the cost to capture and store carbon. If we ever no longer need to capture and store carbon, then we will need to match that firm's sales for whichever was its best year corrected for general inflation. The compensation will have to be in the form of the United States government buying some fossil fuel from that firm as reserves. The second big question is how can we raise the money needed to pay for both the renewable energy to replace fossil fuel and the fossil fuel we need to buy to meet our obligation to buy fossil fuel reserves fast enough to meet this obligation? I believe the answer is a combination of several sources: 1) Since our military leaders say they would rather give up some our our military pork barrel spending to green our energy supply to cut down on conflict with other nations over resources and since much of our military expenditure lately has been for bullying other nations with oil reserves on behalf of large international oil firms with headquarters in the United States, we should be able to divert some money from military pork barrel to spending the same amount of money buying renewable energy equipment from the same military industrial complex firms using the same plants in the same Congressional districts. 2) Since we need to cut greenhouse gas emissions both sooner and faster than we can replace fossil fuel with renewable energy, we need to tax greenhouse gases at $5/ton CO2eq. in 2013, increasing the tax by $5/ton CO2eq. each year until maximum revenue is reached probably in 2021. Since the current retail price of oil is three times as high in relation to that $5/ton CO2eq., we also need an additional tax on petroleum products and on their substitutes of $0.20/gallon. Since gasoline started as a way to use up leftovers from making diesel fuel from petroleum and gasoline is less efficient than diesel, it would help if motor vehicle makers could be persuaded to make more electric vehicles and more diesel plug-in hybrids and fewer gasoline powered internal combustion engine vehicles. Even after replacing fossil fuel with renewable energy, the same tax on renewable replacements of fossil fuel will be needed both to finance replacement parts and to pay for fossil fuel displaced both by the tax itself and by renewable energy. Even after all fossil fuel has been replaced by renewable energy and paid for as reserves if not burned, the rich will still find a broad-based tax on consumption that hits the poor even harder than the rich less offensive than a graduated tax on income.
The most likely renewable replacement for petroleum is bio-diesel from algae being developed by Algae Systems under contract to U S Navy. Once the price comes down to competitive with petroleum, we will need to buy the technology from Algae
Systems and license it both to petroleum firms to make and sell as a commercial product and back to Algae Systems to develop replacements for other petroleum products including lubricants and aviation fuel. But we will need to continue to tax bio-diesel to pay for remaining fossil fuel reserves and for cleaning up mess left by fossil fuel.
Since the most likely renewable replacement for both coal and gas is electricity directly from wind, solar, and geothermal with storage and smart grid electronics to better match supply and demand in real-time, owners of stock in coal and gas firms will have their stocks turn into what amounts to very long-term government bonds--promises to pay a certain amount over a certain period of time.
Dear President Obama:
Please don't let greed and lust for money override good sense. Stop the planned drilling in the Arctic before it is too late.
When is enough enough? Is it going to take the devastation of America's last raw wilderness for people to listen?
The answer. Anwar
The answer ".............anwar
PLEASE put an end to all offshore drilling. Did we learn nothing from the BP spill?? Louisiana (where I live) has suffered enormously from the greed of big oil companies. When will we learn????
PLEASE put an end to all offshore drilling. Did we learn nothing from the BP spill?? Louisiana (where I live) has suffered enormously from the greed of big oil companies. When will we learn????
Dear President Obama and Secretary Salazar:
Please STOP the planned drilling in the Arctic; our need for more oil (i.e., more money for the oil companies) is NOT worth the risks to the pristine, fragile ecosystems in the Arctic.
In addition, we urgently need to SLOW the removal of all fossil fuels from the earth: if we do not, there will be irreversible, catastrophic changes to our earth due to global warming by greenhouse gases.
Green house gas emissions worldwide are increasing at such an alarming rate that scientists affiliated with the Global Carbon Project are warning that an international goal of limiting the ultimate warming of the planet to two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), established three years ago At the Copenhagen Summit, is on the verge of becoming unattainable.
Even more frightening, many scientists now think that the goal of limiting increases of global temperatures to two degrees Celsius is far too lenient. So far, due to the release of greenhouse gases, we've raised the average temperature of the planet just under 0.8 degrees Celsius. The resulting environment damage that has occurred with this increase in global temperature - including a loss of a third of summer sea ice in the Arctic, a 30 percent increase in the acidity of the oceans, and a 5 percent increase in water vapor in the atmosphere over the oceans (due to the increased capacity of warm air to hold more water vapor than cold) - has far exceeded expectations of climate scientists. As a result many scientists now think that the goal of limiting the increase of global temperatures to two degrees Celsius is actually a prescription for long-term disaster.
If we are to have ANY hope of preventing catastrophic changes to Earth, we must IMMEDIATELY address the challenge of reducing our consumption of fossil fuels. In this light, allowing drilling in the Arctic makes no sense at all.
Dear President Obama:
Please STOP the planned drilling in the Arctic; our need for more oil (i.e., more money for the oil companies) is NOT worth the risks to the pristine, but fragile ecosystems in the Arctic.
In addition, we urgently need to SLOW the removal of all fossil fuels from the earth: if we do not, there will be irreversible, catastrophic changes to our earth due to global warming by greenhouse gases.
Green house gas emissions worldwide are increasing at such an alarming rate that scientists affiliated with the Global Carbon Project are warning that an international goal of limiting the ultimate warming of the planet to two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), established three years ago At the Copenhagen Summit, is on the verge of becoming unattainable.
Even more frightening, many scientists now think that the goal of limiting global temperatures to increase to two degrees Celsius is far too lenient. So far, due to the release of greenhouse gases, we've raised the average temperature of the planet just under 0.8 degrees Celsius. The resulting environment damage that has occurred with this increase in global temperature - including a loss of a third of summer sea ice in the Arctic, a 30 percent increase in the acidity of the oceans, and a 5 percent increase in water vapor in the atmosphere over the oceans (due to the increased capacity of warm air to hold more water vapor than cold) - has far exceeds expectations of climate scientists. As a result many scientists now think that the goal of limiting the increase of global temperatures to two degrees Celsius is actually a prescription for long-term disaster.
If we are to have ANY hope of preventing catastrophic changes to Earth, we must IMMEDIATELY address the challenge of reducing our consumption of fossil fuels. In this light, allowing drilling in the Arctic makes no sense at all.
Mr. Obama, with the resignation of Secretary Salazar PLEASE select someone for the position who really cares about the environment and is strong and won't cave in to any outfits that are only interested in the almighty dollar.
It's not the poor equipment or worthiness of workers on the platforms, but the decisions that are based on greed and profit. Transporting the rig Kulluk in the north Pacific during the winter was a good example of profit overriding sound thinking. Royal Dutch Shell wanted to avoid paying a tax to Alaska by moving the rig out of Dutch Harbor when it was not wise to do so. It doesn't matter how good the equipment is when poor decisions are made. (is the BP disaster so far in the past?)
Hey "drilling for dummies." Stop it!
I have nothing but praise for your organization in spelling out for people exactly what the problems and challenges are today with respect to corporations and private profit with respect to the environment. I'm hoping enough people wake up soon, especially among the economically elite, before it is too late. Best wishes to us all and our one shared planet!
When will the true cost of this out weigh the true benifits to all of us?
Our oceans are too fragile to risk another catastrophe like the Gulf disaster. Off shore drilling has to be set up with far better oversight and safety procedures before it is even in the planning stages. Don't risk our oceans!
Oil isn't necessary. It's time to start investing more in renewable sources of energy and stop creating pollution.
Although your heart is in the right place, why not back it up with action. Go the extra mile and do something yourself: Stop driving your car. Stop heating or cooling your house. Stop using electricity. Then they will stop drilling for oil because there will be less of a demand. Comapanies are profit-driven and in a free market, increasing profits IS the right thing.
Change starts with us. However, if we ramp down, other nations will overtake our economy and we will becomne and even poorer nation. Let's be realistic here. Further, to overcome drilling problems in harsh conditions, we have to face them and re-engineer, not hide from them.
Perhaps I don't buy into Earth Justice anymore. Sorry for the rant.
On the contrary, 'ramping down' our energy use, especially the energy generated from fossil fuels will create jobs because the changes made will need changes in the infrastructure. Also, it will set a good example and reduce our dependency on other countries and more importantly, corporations!
And lastly, what other choices are there? As it is we're heading straight for the abyss, we need to slam on the brakes and start reversing. Never mind the so called fiscal cliff, it's the environmental cliff we need to worry about.
enough is enough-stop the drilling...
These oil tankers are continuously leaking and polluting our oceans. Stop drilling in the Arctic. We are using less oil all the time but could do much better. I look forward to the day when we have high speed trains crisscross sing all through our country and better local transportation so people don' always have to drive especially older folks. Stop the wars, close the military bases and there would be enough money to expand our transportation networks.
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Toilettage chiens
Mr. Obama, I voted for you in both elections because I heard you come out for the environment and felt you were a genuine progressively-oriented person and politician, genuinely interested in the welfare of the populace of this country and even the world. I still believe that you may be this, but your record speaks against it.
I am wondering what it would be like to be in your position. I imagine you are dealing with pressures and odds that are incomprehensible to the rest of us. I believe that unearthly strength of character and purpose, being willing to sacrifice all that is dear to you personally and a powerful voice to lead are a requirement for being able to withstand and override those pressures, influences, bribes, threats and challenges, and those are qualities reminiscent of the Kennedys and of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
They were all disposed of, since they would not surrender to the greed that runs this world.
I would not want to see this happen to you. I think you are trying to do what you can to steer the process of government toward the promises you made to us.
I also think you could do better. I hope you would be able in some way to replace Ken Salazar with someone who is actually interested in preserving our environments and wildlife. Maybe his talk is progressive, but perhaps he is also under threats and bribes that he cannot withstand. But, PLEASE! let's get to the bottom of this! Our world is being harmed!
Stop Drillimg in the Artic PLEASE!!!
Stop Drillimg in the Artic PLEASE!!!
The last thing our globalized society needs is more dirty energy, and drilling in the Arctic will only keep us dependent on dirty fossil fuels, the burning of which are wreaking havoc on our climate, the relative stability of which our civilization depends on. Please say no to Arctic drilling, and push renewables and conservation - it's our only chance at preserving a habitable climate.
I add my voice to the already thousands of sensible people who are against big oil greed and their lunatic ideas for drilling in the Arctic seas.
I am utterly infurriated that President Obama has even allowed Secretary Ken Salazar of the U.S. Department of the Interior to remain in office. It is obvious that he does not have the wisdom that it takes to withstand the pressures of the Big Oil Greed Mongers and the like. I would be very scared to have him running his office without environmental and wildlife protection organizations and their petitions guiding him to do what is right and good for the people, our planet earth and wildlife, really the only thing keeping him from being successful in his wicked endeavors.
We need a person who has the heart and back bone of the people in mind and heart when making dier decisons for our planets future!
Every day through the news we are bombarded with the evils of men and women who care only for their pocket books and have no vision when it comes to the future of our world. The crimes against this planet and its inhabitants human or animal are beyond understanding and our Government is supposed to be a power that helps keep any further destruction from occuring... President Obama, Secretary Ken Salazar and any other politician reading this...please know that we will not allow you to destroy the rest of our planet.
One more thing, I have a question concering the polar bears and other animals that are on the endangered species list living in the arctic region. How can anyone say that drilling for oil in the Arctic would not be a threat to the survival of these animals? Shouldn't drilling there be considered a danger out right and by law made a no dril area forever?
Thank you!
Wake up. I am personally making efforts every day in my business and my family's life to reduce our footprint as a soceity and as a race. Its time our Government got behind the people who really care about this country. The time is now, stop drilling, stop subsidizing the wrong energy source. Please, for the future.
Stand up to the oil companies! Don't allow them to drill where they can harm the environment and the wildlife. I would be willing to pay higher rates for gas. Thank you.
You have said the need for clean energy is now, so there is no need to destroy another pristine place. Say no to the drilling in the Arctic. Don't let the big oil sway your position on this matter. Just say NO...................
And the refinery attack in Algeria. . .brought to you by BP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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