These are the Facts: The Minerals Management Service, in approving Shell Oil’s exploration plans for the Chukchi and Beaufort seas, did not deny the remote possibility of disasters like the Gulf spill. It took the necessary “hard look at the consequences of its actions” in approving the offshore drilling plans in the Arctic, the court said.
Despite all allegations to the contrary, a federal court has yet again confirmed that the federal government properly reviewed oil exploration plans for this coming summer in Alaska’s offshore waters.  Thanks Mary for this letter showing Obama has not protected pristine waters in the Arctic above the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. 

Thank you Mary!  Phyllis

Spill should make us rethink Arctic Drilling

 

I have been watching with horror as one of the worst oil spills in American history continues unabated, and millions of gallons of crude oil now threaten our nation's vital Gulf coast ecosystem.

This latest national environmental crisis reaffirms the oil industry's history of consistently underestimating the risks of drilling.

In light of the crisis, President Barack Obama recently called for a time-out on new offshore drilling, but didn't specifically include the Arctic Ocean.

 

Despite the fact that there is no way to clean up a major oil spill amid the Arctic's broken sea-ice conditions, exploratory drilling is slated to begin in the Arctic Ocean in less than 60 days.

If the oil industry can't even stop a spill in the Gulf of Mexico, surrounded by all of its infrastructure and technology, how will they ever stop one at the top of the world?

- Mary Torgoman, Des Moines