Arctic ice adds to high risk of drilling oil

Despite obvious differences, the icy Arctic Ocean and the warm, deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico have an important commonality: we aren’t prepared to safely drill for oil in either place. Last year’s Gulf spill – which killed 11 rig workers and fouled waters that nourish ecosystems and economies alike – is a harsh illustration of that simple fact.

And yet, the Gulf spill’s oily sheen has been a Rorschach test for the nation, eliciting support for and opposition to high-risk offshore drilling. Thankfully, the critical need to slow down and assess our preparedness to drill safely in deepwater and sensitive areas like the Arctic was underscored last week by the findings of President Obama’s Oil Spill Commission.

The commission was clear: the Gulf spill was a preventable disaster caused by mistakes made while drilling in high-risk conditions for which neither industry nor government were prepared. And the industry is still not prepared, the commission emphasized. There are huge gaps in our understanding of how to drill in deepwater and sensitive areas like the Arctic without endangering human safety and environmental protection.

If you add up all the indicting statements, conclusions and recommendations in President Obama’s oil spill commission report—released today—you’d think outlaws are running the oil industry under charter from federal regulators. Which is no surprise to us at Earthjustice.

Much of what the commission says is what we’ve been saying (in court, in Congress and in our public messaging) for many years: offshore drilling is too risky to be conducted the way our government has allowed. The process rejects science, embraces politics, ignores environmental calamity, and lets private business interests trump public interests. We can only applaud the commission’s recommendations for top-to-bottom change in how the industry approaches drilling and how the government regulates the industry.

We are particularly appreciative of the commission’s cautions and advisories about oil exploration in the icy waters of the Arctic’s Chukchi and Beaufort seas. Although the commission didn’t come right out and call for a moratorium on drilling those areas, its recommendations add up to virtually the same conclusion. Observes Earthjustice Vice President for Litigation Patti Goldman:

A cement kiln in Midlothian, TX operates near a playground. Photo: Samantha Bornhorst

The Republican majority in the new Congress has named the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as its chief adversary and is now preparing to thwart by any means necessary the agency’s efforts to reduce pollution. Today, they took one of their first swipes at the agency.

Led by Rep. John Carter (R-TX), House Republicans are attempting to use an obscure procedure known as the Congressional Review Act to take down the EPA’s recently finalized standards to control toxic air emissions from cement plants—the third largest source of mercury pollution in the U.S.

But this crusade is far more than an attack on the EPA, which under Lisa Jackson’s leadership has become a whipping boy for the congressional allies of big polluters. It’s an attack on Americans and their right to breathe clean air.

Sharks are targeted for their fins to make shark fin soup. Photo courtesy of sxc.hu

Congress puts the kibosh on shark fin soup
Last week, Congress adopted legislation to curb shark finning, the practice of chopping off a shark's fins and dumping the finless shark back into the water, all so that people can dine on shark fin soup, reports the Washington Post. Though shark finning is currently banned off of the Atlantic Coast and in the Gulf of Mexico, the bill will protect sharks off of all U.S. coasts by requiring vessels to land sharks with their fins attached, helping to restore endangered shark populations.

Oil spill probe undermined by conflict of interest
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board has alleged that the investigation into the cause of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill has been tainted because Transocean and Cameron, two companies with a stake in the investigation's outcome, have been allowed to participate in the examination. Allowing these two companies is a bit like asking a bank thief to help investigate a robbery that he/she was involved in, but there's no word yet on whether the allegations will be taken seriously. In the meantime, Earthjustice is working hard to make sure those guilty of causing the biggest environmental disaster in the U.S. are held accountable.