When my career began in the late 1990s, one of my arguments for protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from oil drilling was that we already had a place for Arctic resource development — a place that actually had “petroleum reserve” as part of its name.
“Clearly, sea ice is a problem even now, during summer,” said Lois Epstein, an Alaska-licensed engineer and The Wilderness Society’s Arctic Program Director. “Chukchi Sea oil likely will be among the most expensive oil in the world to produce and transport to market
Sadly, the answer is always the same. Because of Alaska’s remoteness and lack of infrastructure, and Shell’s inadequate technology, the company would recover very little – if any – spilled oil.
As the new president of The Wilderness Society, I’m visiting Alaska’s Arctic to get a first-hand look at the landscapes we’re working to protect and the role oil drilling has on Alaska’s Arctic and its people.
Teshekpuk Lake in the Western Arctic Reserve is home to 45,000 caribou and numerous different birds. It is constantly under threat from oil and gas development.
In addition to our efforts to protect key landscapes in Alaska, The Wilderness Society is a leader in research to determine how climate change will affect Alaska and the Arctic.
