Yesterday, the CEO of Shell Oil announced sharply lower earnings and canceled plans to try to drill in Arctic seas off the coast of Alaska. While couched in terms of a temporary decision applying only to this summer’s drilling season, the actual press announcement by the company had the feel of a more dramatic change … Read more
For more than seven years, Pacific Environment and allies have single-handedly been stopping Shell Oil from drilling in fragile Arctic seas. Now, Shell is busy preparing to return to the Arctic in time to drill during the summer season. But this week a federal court threw a wrench into the oil giant’s plans when it … Read more
Lease Sale 193 in the Chukchi Sea remanded by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Today, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the Department of the Interior violated the law when it sold offshore oil and gas leases in the Chukchi Sea off the coast of Alaska. The decision stems from … Read more
With climate change melting Arctic ice at an ever alarming rate, we know big changes are in store for this pristine environment. But what impact will the big meltdown have on people? I have talked with climatologists who say that one big impact will be erratic weather. High pressure tends to center over the coldest … Read more
Today, the U.S. District Court in Alaska ruled the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement complied with the law when it approved Shell Oil’s plans for preventing and cleaning up an oil spill in the Arctic Ocean’s Chukchi and Beaufort seas. The decision stems from a lawsuit filed by a coalition of conservation organizations made up of the Alaska Wilderness League, Center for Biological Diversity, Greenpeace, National Audubon Society, Natural Resources Defense Council, Ocean Conservancy, Oceana, Pacific Environment, Resisting Environmental Destruction on Indigenous Lands (REDOIL), and Sierra Club. Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental law firm, represented the organizations. The organizations issued the following statement:
Earlier this year, Pacific Environment exposed how the U.S. delegation to the U.N. agency overseeing the creation of new international shipping rules in Arctic waters led the charge for shockingly weak environmental protections. Headed by the U.S. Coast Guard, our representatives at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) strongly opposed Canada and Russia’s proposal to prohibit … Read more
When you throw a piece of trash from your car window, or get rid of your old computer in the woods anywhere in the United States, you’re violating littering or dumping laws, and chances are that you’d have to pay a fine if caught red-handed. But when it comes to the Arctic, our representatives think it’s okay to let … Read more
Back in January, I was asked to present on the topic of food sovereignty and climate change for the International Funders for Indigenous Peoples conference. As I was mulling over what to say, it dawned on me that most issues and threats that indigenous communities are facing today are quite similar, regardless of where they live. Indigenous … Read more
I was hopeful that some real progress would be made when the Department of the Interior suspended Shell’s drilling program in the Arctic because of the company’s chain of embarrassing failures and near-disasters in 2012. But last week, the government’s 60-day investigation of Shell’s Arctic drilling program mainly confirmed what we already knew: Shell is … Read more
When Shell announced yesterday that it was giving up on its plans to drill for oil in Alaska’s Arctic this year, I was elated—but not exactly surprised. A chain of embarrassing accidents in 2012 clearly demonstrated Shell’s inability to drill safely in the Arctic. These fiascoes prompted a review of Shell’s drilling program by the … Read more
We, the undersigned non-governmental organizations, write to urge you to use the occasion of the historic second meeting of Arctic environment ministers to strongly encourage Arctic states to take significant action to reduce emissions of black carbon.
Do you know what China, Australia, and the Arctic have in common? Apart from stunning scenery, it turns out that each is home to one of the 3 biggest threats to our global climate. Here governments and fossil fuel companies are pushing massive, carbon-intensive coal, oil, and gas projects that would cause climate disaster if … Read more
As a 19-year old, Kevin Harun adored actress Mary Tyler Moore; he was convinced that it would be a great adventure to track her down in Minnesota. When he told his grandmother, she thought he might as well be heading to Timbuktu—or Alaska. And when she said, “I dare you,” he promptly took off, carrying … Read more
In a letter sent to Interior’s Acting Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management Tommy Beaudreau today, thirteen conservation groups ask that a review of Shell’s 2012-2013 Arctic drilling examine the entire system of Arctic Ocean drilling.
Today CEOs from Alaska Wilderness League, Center for Biological Diversity, Clean Water Action, Defenders of Wildlife, Earthjustice, Environment America, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, League of Conservation Voters, National Audubon Society, National Parks Conservation Association, Natural Resources Defense Council, Oceana, Ocean Conservancy, Pacific Environment, Sierra Club and The Wilderness Society called on Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar to suspend offshore oil and gas activities in the Arctic Ocean.
Shell ended its 2012 Arctic drilling season with a bang. On New Year’s Eve, one of its drill rigs—the Kulluk— ran aground near Kodiak Island, Alaska, in a severe winter storm while carrying 143,000 gallons of diesel fuel and 12,000 gallons of other petroleum products. Tow vessels were moving the Kulluk, which has no propulsion … Read more
Today is a good day: Shell announced that it is cancelling its 2012 Arctic drilling program! From asking to exceed air pollution limits to a damaged oil spill containment dome, Shell showed that it is not prepared to drill in the Arctic safely. Let’s savor the moment. This is a huge day for millions of … Read more
Despite protests from Pacific Environment and a coalition of conservation organizations, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) went ahead and granted Royal Dutch Shell special treatment. In response to Shell’s request for a waiver from current air pollution regulations, the EPA issued a one-year air pollution permit that will allow Shell to violate the Clean Air Act and exceed air pollution limits in the Arctic. This only increases the likelihood that Shell will receive the final permit it needs to start drilling for oil in America’s Arctic. Take action now.
“We have been forced into court to make sure the Arctic Ocean is protected and Shell is prepared, as mandated by law. The Federal Government rubber-stamped plans that rely on unbelievable assumptions, include equipment that has never been tested in Arctic conditions, and ignore the very real possibility that a spill could continue through the winter. The agency has not met minimum legal standards to be sure that Shell’s plans could be effective and that Shell has sufficient boats, resources, and spill responders to remove a ‘worst-case’ oil spill in the Arctic Ocean to the ‘maximum extent practicable.’ Even after Deepwater Horizon, Interior Secretary Salazar brushed aside concerns about Shell’s spill response capabilities, stating recently that ‘there is not going to be an oil spill.’
WASHINGTON, DC – The Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank), a federal government trade promotion agency, voted to provide $90 million in financing to the top U.S. coal exporter, Xcoal Energy & Resources, to export coal to China and other Asian countries. The vote to subsidize coal exports follows a decrease in U.S. demand … Read more