The Wilderness Society

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Latest Posts tagged with "Beaufort Sea"

Offshore drilling in the Arctic: The deadline to oppose new leases is tonight!

January 9, 2012 By Tim Woody

Already stressed by climate change, polar bears are one of the Arctic species that would be threatened by an offshore oil spill.

Credit: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Despite a glaring lack of scientific information about the Arctic Ocean, or effective technology to address a major oil spill, the Obama administration is following the previous administration’s lead and positioning itself to expand offshore oil and gas leases in Alaska’s Beaufort and Chukchi seas over the next five years in its 2012-2017 drilling plan. Region: Alaska Read more

Stop Arctic Drilling: Help prevent this brewing disaster

September 14, 2011 By Laura Bailey

Polar bear crossing through Arctic waters

Help save the Arctic from oil drilling! As you read this, big oil corporations are just a few steps away from drilling in sensitive Arctic waters, and possibly even under — and eventually in — the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, if all goes their way. Time is critical because several decisions affecting the fate of these extraordinary Arctic lands and waters could be made any day. Region: Alaska Read more

Arctic Waters Safe for Now! Shell ditches plans to drill this year

February 4, 2011 By Neil Shader

Another victory in the Arctic! The Arctic Ocean’s pristine waters and abundant wildlife are safe from drilling for another year. Shell Oil announced Feb. 3 that it has abandoned its plans to drill an exploratory well in the Beaufort Sea several miles off the coast of Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in 2011. Region: Alaska Read more

Obama’s offshore drilling decision: Why we’re concerned for Arctic waters

December 1, 2010 By Lois Epstein, P.E.

Beaufort Sea, Alaska. Courtesy USFWS.

The Obama Administration's Dec. 1 announcement to rescind its Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) drilling plans for the Atlantic seaboard and the eastern portion of the Gulf of Mexico near Florida was a bittersweet pill for those of us working to protect the Arctic Ocean and its coastline from oil spills and development. Region: Alaska Read more

Victory in the Arctic! Oil drilling in Alaska’s Beaufort and Chukchi Seas postponed

May 27, 2010 By Neil Shader

Polar bears, bowhead whales, and native communities are safe from the oil spill devastation that their Gulf coast counterparts are still dealing with. The Obama Administration has announced that they are postponing oil drilling in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas off of Alaska’s northern coast until at least 2011. That includes Shell Oil’s plans to do risky exploratory drilling this summer. The decision comes as part of a larger report on the Deepwater Horizon disaster that was delivered to the President by Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. Read more

Stopping the next oil spill before it happens

May 14, 2010 By William H. Meadows

Bill Meadows

As I continue to follow the devastating news concerning the oil spill on the Gulf Coast, I am overwhelmed with a sense of deja-vu from the Exxon-Valdez tragedy that occurred in Alaska over two decades ago. It's been more than 20 years, and Alaskans are still recovering from the mess that the historic spill left in Prince William Sound. Read more

No more oil disasters: Prevent Alaska from being next in line

April 30, 2010 By Neil Shader

Satellite image of the oil spill on the Gulf Coast. Courtesy NASA Goddard Photo and Video, Flickr.

The oil companies said they could drill safely in ecologically senstive areas. They were wrong. As the Deepwater Horizon accident continues to devastate the Gulf Coast with an oil slick twice the size of the state of Maryland, there is no question that it's time to reevaluate the nation's drilling policies. The Wilderness Society believes it is time to call for a timeout on all new offshore drilling and exploration. Read more

Salazar arrives in Alaska for off-shore drilling hearing

April 14, 2009 By Anne Gore

Today is a big day in Anchorage. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar is in town to gather input to inform his agency’s decisions about opening the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) to energy development. Anchorage is home base to many major oil companies that operate on Alaska’s North Slope, so we expect a big turnout from both pro-development interests as well as those who are concerned about the environmental impacts of oil development in Alaska’s pristine waters. Read more