Sec. Salazar takes a step in the right direction
Last week, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, issued a change in course for U.S. conservation policy. Our Oceans Program Director, David Dickson, said it best: "We applaud Secretary Salazar's efforts to take a step back and revisit the Bush administration's proposals for oil and gas development in the nation's offshore areas, particularly in America's Arctic region in Alaska."
It's about time our government sought a "new way forward" on energy development that takes public concern, and even science, into consideration. Sec. Salazar took an important first step, but there's more work to be done.
The current five year plan (2007-2015) for the Arctic Ocean, developed by the Bush administration, contains vast plans for development in Arctic waters that are already being implemented, including the largest blocks of Arctic waters yet to be offered.
Before one more acre of Arctic waters is leased to the oil and gas industry, we urge Sec. Salazar to call for a timeout on all oil and gas activity in the Arctic Ocean, to ensure that the reckless decisions of the past do no more damage in the future.