Greenpeace & Amnesty International & Defenders of Wildlife – 2010-05-24 23:45:12
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ACTION ALERT: No Drilling in Arctic
John Hocevar / Greenpeace
WASHINGTON (May 24, 2010) — Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and a group of Senators were visiting the Gulf today to tour the oil spill and get the latest on the “cleanup” efforts. Greenpeace activists were also in the area to send them a message.
The activists took a stand at a drilling supply ship that’s scheduled to leave for the Arctic this summer. Oil from the spill was used to paint the message “Arctic Next?” on the bridge of the ship. Shell hopes to use the ship to support their plans for exploratory drilling off the coast of Alaska in July. But before that can happen, Secretary Salazar has to approve their plan. He’s literally deciding what to do as you read this.
Just like BP dismissed the possibility of a blowout and oil spill with its Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf, Shell is saying the same thing about their plans for the Alaskan Arctic. We know better than that. The truth is that Shell’s plans in Alaska are even riskier than BP’s. The likelihood of a blowout is higher. And oil spill “clean-up” in this harsh, remote environment is impossible. The nearest Coast Guard station is a thousand miles away.
The only way to prevent disasters like the Gulf oil spill is to stop new oil drilling and wean ourselves off of dirty and dangerous fossil fuels like oil. A ban on Arctic drilling would be a first step towards a comprehensive ban on all new drilling in the United States.
We need an energy revolution and it needs to start right now. Secretary Salazar can help us take a step in the right direction by canceling Shell’s Arctic drilling program. Tell him just say “NO” to Shell’s plans right now.
John Hocevar is the Greenpeace Oceans Campaign Director
Tell Secretary Salazar to
Just Say “No” to Shell’s Alaska Drilling
Even as BP oil continues to gush in the Gulf of Mexico, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is poised to grant Shell the green light to begin exploratory drilling in the Arctic waters off Alaska this summer.
Harsh weather and ice-infested waters are the norm in Alaska, and the risk of blowouts is even higher than in the Gulf. And oil spill “clean-up†in this harsh, remote environment is impossible. The nearest Coast Guard station is a thousand miles away.
Shell’s Arctic drilling threatens distinctive Arctic species such as polar bears, walrus, seals and whales, as well as the Alaska Native communities who have relied on them for culture and subsistence for millennia. Alaska’s Arctic and its inhabitants deserve better.
1) Call (202) 208-7351. If it’s between the hours of 9 am and 5 pm ET you should be able to talk to a person. If you aren’t calling between those hours and don’t speak to a person, skip step #2 and simply leave the message below.
2) The phone will be answered by a staff person in Secretary Salazar’s office. Tell them your name, city and state you are calling from, and then tell the staffer you are calling to leave a message with Secretary Salazar about Shell’s proposed drilling in the Arctic. You will then be asked if you would like to use the Interior Department’s comment line, politely say no, and say that you would prefer leaving your comment with the staffperson you are speaking with so that he/she can give that message to the Secretary directly.
3) Leave your message. Here’s a sample:
“Hi, my name is _________________, I live in [city, state], and I want Secretary Salazar to stop Shell’s Alaskan drilling and to ban ALL new drilling off US coasts.”
4) Last, let us know that you made the call.
Greenpeace, 702 H Street, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20001. 1-800-326-0959
Proposed Shell Drilling Threatens Alaska’s Inupiat People
Sameer Dossani / Amnesty International
For the Inupiat Eskimo communities of Alaska, the connection between rich, healthy ecosystems and putting food on the family table is closer than it is for others. It means preserving their cultural identities and protecting an entire way of life.
That’s why we’ve joined with our good friends at Defenders of Wildlife in the fight to stop destructive oil drilling in the Chukchi Sea.
Protect the way of life for Inupiat Eskimos and the wildlife they depend on for survival.
Thank you for standing with the Inupiat,
Sameer Dossani is Director of Amnesty International’s Demand Dignity Campaign.
From: Rodger Schlickeisen / Defenders of Wildlife
To: Amnesty International Supporters
Subject:
Wildlife, Native Communities Threatened:
We Need Amnesty International’s Help.
(May 18, 2010) — The people of Alaska’s Inupiat Eskimo communities have lived in relative harmony with nature for centuries. Their hardscrabble existence is dependent on hunting and fishing. It’s how they support their families.
The Inupiat way of life — and the delicate balance of nature that supports it — could soon fall victim to the same sort of offshore drilling disaster now occurring in the Gulf of Mexico.
Take action now to protect the people and wildlife of the Chukchi from another drilling disaster.
Shell Oil wants to make millions of dollars from these pristine waters. But there’s a cost to that greed.
A spill in the Chukchi — even the day-to-day damage done by offshore oil drilling operations in these waters — could spell disaster for the people, polar bears, whales and other wildlife that rely on the Chukchi to survive.
Urge Ken Salazar,US Secretary of the Interior, to rescind offshore drilling leases in the Chukchi Sea.
The Inupiat lead a subsistence lifestyle that depends on their ability to hunt bowhead whales, walrus, seals, beluga whales, polar bears, birds, and fish, all of which depend upon the health of the Chukchi Sea ecosystem.
Shell’s drilling plans could decimate Chukchi ecosystems — and the communities that rely upon them to survive.
Any day now Shell will start to send ships up to the Chukchi. Under the oil company’s plan, huge 514-foot-long drill ship and an armada of support vessels and aircraft would patrol the waters of the icy Arctic Ocean — generating industrial noise, and emitting tons of heat-trapping gases and both air water pollutants.
Stop the harmful drilling- stand with the Inupiat and protect the wildlife they need to survive.
The catastrophic oil spill that is devastating the Louisiana Gulf Coast right now is truly a call to action. As we send this out to you the horror of the Gulf disaster is spreading and oil is decimating fisheries and dependent communities. We need to make sure that the same does not happen to the Inupiate people of Alaska.
The last time a disaster of such proportions hit Alaska was the Exxon-Valdez spill in 1989. To this day, human and wildlife communities have not fully recovered.
Thirty years later, there’s still no effective, proven technology to clean up oil spills in broken sea ice conditions, such as those found in the Chukchi Sea — that means an oil spill could doom rare arctic whales, threatened polar bears and other wildlife to extinction and destroy Inupiat communities if drilling proceeds.
Shell is wasting no time, so we need to take action now! Urge the Obama administration to stop harmful drilling in the Chukchi Sea.
The Inupiat communities — like the wildlife of the Chukchi Sea — are unique and irreplaceable. Please take action today to protect them.
Rodger Schlickeisen is the President of Defenders of Wildlife
Help Save an Irreplaceable Way of Life
Bowhead whales, polar bears and other Arctic wildlife are a vital part of the Inupiat Eskimo way of life. These hardy people subsist on the natural bounty offered by healthy ecosystems along the coast of Alaska’s Chukchi Sea.
But Shell Oil’s plans to drill for oil and gas in these waters could spell doom for these communities — and the wildlife that is so inextricably linked to their survival.
Help save wildlife and preserve this centuries-old culture. Urge Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to rescind drilling permits that could devastate these pristine coasts and kill whales, polar bears and other wildlife.
The Petition
As someone who cares about preserving Alaska Native communities and protecting America’s Wildlife, I strongly urge you to rescind Shell Oil’s drilling leases in the Chukchi Sea.
Shell Oil may want to make millions of dollars by exploiting wells in these frigid waters, but the cost to the people and the environment is just too high. One spill from their rigs could destroy the way of life for the Inupiat communities and devastate the wondrous wildlife found in this remote area.
The Inupiat lead a subsistence lifestyle that depends on their ability to hunt bowhead whales, walrus, seals, beluga whales, polar bears, birds, and fish, all of which depend upon the health of the Chukchi Sea ecosystem.
Under Shell’s plan, a huge 514-foot-long drill ship and an armada of support vessels and aircraft would patrol the waters of the icy Arctic Ocean, generating industrial noise in the ocean, emitting tons of air pollutants, including heat-trapping gases, and thousands of barrels of water pollutants… and that is the best case scenario.
The company’s drilling plans also raise concerns of another catastrophic offshore drilling disaster like the one now threatening the communities and wildlife of the Gulf of Mexico… and another Exxon-Valdez-like oil spill. The Valdez spill decimated fisheries and continues to impact local wildlife and Alaskan communities to this day.
Thirty years after the Valdez Spill, there is still no effective, proven technology to clean up oil spills in broken sea ice conditions in Arctic waters, such as those found in the Chukchi Sea… a problem that could doom rare arctic whales, threatened polar bears and other wildlife to extinction and destroy Inupiat communities if drilling proceeds.
For all these reasons, I strongly urge you to rescind Shell Oil’s leases and protect the Chukchi Sea and the wildlife and people who depend on it to survive.
Thank you for considering my comments. I look forward to your reply.
Sincerely
