Summary:  The Arctic Challenger – the 37-year-old barge that was designated to clean up any oil spills that could occur during Shell’s impending oil exploration in the Arctic – has failed to meet the U.S. Coast Guard certification standards. The barge is undergoing a multi-million dollar retrofit and cannot set sail for Alaska until it receives approval from the Coast Guard officials. Shell engineers contend that the company should be held to less rigorous standards for mobile offshore drilling, suggesting that a 10-year storm standard is more appropriate than a 100-year storm standard for the historical conditions in the Arctic.

The ship must pass the rigorous inspection before it can be deployed for oil operations in the harsh, unpredictable weather conditions of the Beaufort and Chukchi seas during the summer months. "Of any place in the world where you don't want to be hoping for the best, it's the Arctic Ocean," said Holly Harris, an attorney for Earthjustice, the environmental legal group that has filed a lawsuit challenging offshore Arctic oil operations. "The folks in Barrow, Alaska, have temperatures below freezing 320 days a year. The average temperature in September is roughly 30 degrees. And the storms are so unpredictable that to sort of...hope the big storm doesn't come is frankly irresponsible," she said.

  Full Article:  http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-arctic-drilling-shell-barge-20120705,0,4632140.story"

  Summary:  Shell is expected to receive permits from the U.S Department of the Interior to drill for oil in the Arctic and hopes to begin as soon as next month. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar admitted that there are immense environmental safety risks associated with drilling in the Arctic, but proceeded to say that he does not anticipate an oil spill. In the event of a blowout, the company originally claimed that it could collect at least 90 percent of any oil spilled. In a more recent statement Shell Alaska spokesman Curtis Smith backtracked. “We say in our plan we expect to 'encounter' 90 percent of any discharge on site—very close to the drilling rig,” he said.

The possibility of an oil spill is a disaster for marine life, polar bears, ice seals and walrus, as well as the local communities who depend on the ocean’s biological stability. "Secretary Salazar says there's not going to be an oil spill. That's astonishing," said Holly Harris, a staff attorney with Earthjustice based in Juneau, Alaska. "No oil company has ever come close to cleaning up 90 percent of spilled oil in the open ocean. The administration is hoping for the best but not preparing for the worst."

  Full Article:  http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120702/NATION/207020364/Arctic-drilling-creeps-forward-now-5-years"

  Summary:  Earthjustice won a key court decision regarding a plan to open Colorado’s ecologically rich Roan Plateau for oil and natural gas exploration. The court ruled the federal Bureau of Land Management leased the area without considering a less destructive alternative of recovering oil and gas beneath the surface through directional drilling from wells on the edge of the plateau, which would leave much of the plateau undisturbed. The judge also ruled that BLM failed to address the cumulative effects of drilling on the air quality and take into consideration ozone impacts.

"The Roan is one of Colorado's gems. It's going to get a second look, and we hope it will be protected," said Earthjustice attorney Mike Freeman, who represented environmental groups that filed a lawsuit challenging the BLM's plan. Krieger ordered BLM to revise the plan, but the agency may come back with the same drilling plan, even after it reviews the decision.

  Full Article:  http://www.denverpost.com/lifestyles/ci_20926351/roan-plateau-drilling-plan-set-aside-by-judge"

  Summary:  Last week Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) and Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) introduced The Appalachian Communities Health Emergency (ACHE) Act—a historic bill that would halt new mountaintop removal mining operations until research shows no further evidence of detrimental health problems associated with coal mining in the affected communities. The congressional act brings much needed attention to one of the most pressing humanitarian and environmental crises in the country. If enacted, the bill would provide the coal mining victims with overdue justice and health protection.

As mentioned in a Huffington Post blog, Earthjustice is among the major environmental groups in Washington D.C. who supports the objectives of the ACHE Act.

  Full Article:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-biggers/ache-act_b_1609958.html"