Earlier Obama upheld Bush's 4D rule that didn't protect polar bear
habitat.  Sad this president has no reverence for other than human life. 
John Muir:  "Though alligators, snakes, etc., naturally repel us, they
are not mysterious evils.  They dwell happily in these flowery wilds, are
part of God's family, unfallen, undepraved, and cared for with the same
species of tenderness and love as is bestowed on angles in heaven or
saints on earth." Phyllis
Associated Press | 
JUNEAU, Alaska - Royal Dutch Shell has secured another federal
authorization as it pursues plans to drill exploration wells in the
Arctic waters off the Alaska coast.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Tuesday issued a letter of
authorization allowing for the possible harassment of polar bears and
Pacific walrus incidental to Shell's drilling program work. Intentional
harassment is not permitted.
The authorization includes measures that Shell must take to minimize the
effect of its work on the animals, including a minimum spacing of 15
miles between all drill rigs or seismic survey vessels, something
conservation groups had sought. Nonetheless, some of those groups still
called on President Barack Obama's administration to stop Arctic
drilling.
Chris Krenz, Arctic campaign manager and senior scientist for Oceana,
said the government seems to be rushing to meet Shell's timeline rather
than taking the time needed to do the appropriate analyses.
"The closer the Shell rigs encroach upon the Chukchi Sea, the further
away the Obama administration retreats from its promise to leave a strong
climate legacy," Friends of the Earth's Marissa Knodel said in a
statement.
Shell still needs drill permits. If it gets those, it could begin
drilling in the Chukchi Sea in mid-July.
Shell spokesman Curtis Smith said by email that the company is evaluating
Fish and Wildlife's letter of authorization and continues to pursue the
exploration plan conditionally approved by another federal agency earlier
this year. "That includes drilling in the Chukchi Sea once open water
permits," he wrote.
The letter of authorization came the same day that Shell's second Arctic
drilling ship, the Noble Discoverer, left Everett, Washington, en route
to Alaska. The 572-foot drill ship was escorted from the harbor in
Everett by two tug boats and two Coast Guard vessels, KIRO-TV reported.
The U.S. Coast said it temporarily detained five protesters in kayaks who
tried to stop the vessel as it left Everett early Tuesday morning. The
activists were brought to shore and issued citations for violating the
safety zone around the drill ship, Chief Petty Officer David Mosley said.
All were released.
Shell's other drilling rig, the Polar Pioneer, arrived in Alaska's Dutch
Harbor on Saturday, Smith said in an email to The Associated Press. It
will remain there until Shell has received the final permits it needs
from the government to drill and the sea ice over the drilling area
begins to clear.
Shell wants a 30-mile radius around the drill site to be free of ice
before starting to drill, Smith said.
Shell experts are predicting the drill site over the Burger prospect in
the Chukchi Sea will be clear the third week of July, and the company's
drill fleet would move into the Bering Strait sometime after the first
week of July to meet that target date, he said.
___
Associated Press reporter Mark Thiessen contributed to this report from
Anchorage, Alaska.

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