New Pressure to Open the Arctic to Offshore Drilling

by Marah Hardt · 2011-04-21 09:00:00 UTC
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As oil prices rise, Alaskan federal officials are putting more and more pressure on the Administration to open up the U.S.'s "most important and abundant domestic source of future oil and gas" —including that which lies beneath the Beaufort and Chukhi seas.  These officials are busy slashing taxes and pushing through legislation (as well as sending letters to Secretary of Interior Salazar) to make drilling in Alaska as attractive as possible—despite the fact that the Arctic remains a very dangerous place to risk a spill.

As yesterday's anniversary of the Deep Horizon disaster reminds us, spills can and will happen.  And in the freezing, extreme conditions of the Arctic—think extended periods of darkness, fog, sub-zero temperatures, hurricane-force storms, and lots of moving sea ice—clean-up efforts would be nearly impossible.  Just this past February, an oil spill off Norway's only marine reserve proved how difficult clean-up operations can be, even in relatively calm conditions: oil leaked underneath sea ice, where it was impossible to reach, and surface skimming booms quickly clogged with ice, rendering them useless.

Significant steps to reform drilling rules and regulations to safe guard the environment against such disasters must be made before drilling in the region should even be considered.  With an upcoming integovernmental Arctic Council meeting slated for May 12, now is the time to let Bureau of Ocean Energy Chief James Bennett know that this fragile and already—threatened ecosystem (thanks to climate change) does not need the additional risk of poorly structured and rushed oil and gas development.

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Photo credit: NOAA Photo Library

Marah Hardt is a research scientist, writer, and consultant. She has written for Yale e360, Ecology Letters, and The American Prospect.

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