You could thank the Times! 

http://www.nytimes.com/" target="_blank"> 
  
August 8, 2011 
EDITORIAL: 
A Necessary Condition for Arctic Drilling 
The Obama administration’s
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/05/us/05shell.html"
target="_blank">decision on Thursday to give “conditional approval” to
Royal Dutch Shell’s plans to begin drilling four shallow-water wells in
the Beaufort Sea off Alaska alarmed many environmentalists. Cleaning up
an oil spill in the frigid, turbulent waters of the Arctic Ocean is
likely to be far more complicated than it was in the comparatively benign
waters of the Gulf of Mexico. 
We have misgivings about this plan for just that reason. But President
Obama, who indicated last year that he would honor Shell’s leases if it
passed various environmental reviews, seems determined to proceed. The
administration should require that Shell meet basic safeguards before it
receives final permits to begin punching holes in the ocean floor. 
The most important safeguard, spelled out in an Aug. 4 letter from the
Department of the Interior, is that Shell demonstrate the capacity to
quickly contain a blowout — not with skimmers, relief wells or other
surface equipment, all of which Shell promises — at the source. Perhaps
the most shocking discovery in the gulf disaster is that nobody, federal
regulators included, knew how to contain the leak once the blowout
preventer failed. The result was a devastating 86-day gusher. 
It will presumably be easier to plug a leak at 160 feet — the average
depth of Shell’s projected wells — than it was at 5,000 feet. But any
well drilled below the ocean surface will generate great pressure, with
the risk of a blowout. Shell’s celebratory press release Thursday said it
“remains committed to fabricating an oil spill capping system.” That’s
much too vague. Ken Salazar, who as the interior secretary is responsible
for giving the final go-ahead, must insist on a functioning capping
system.  ## 
  
Vicky Hoover 
retired staff,  Alaska Task Force 
Newsletter editor, Alaska Chapter 
85 Second St., 2nd floor 
San Francisco, CA 94105-3459 
(415)977-5527 
fax:(415)977-5799 
[log in to unmask] 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
To unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to:
[log in to unmask]

Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information:
http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp

Sign up to receive Sierra Club Insider, the flagship
e-newsletter. Sent out twice a month, it features the Club's
latest news and activities. Subscribe and view recent
editions at http://www.sierraclub.org/insider/