The Arctic Ocean is one of the most productive, fragile, and least understood marine ecosystems in the world. Unfortunately it is also one of the world’s most threatened marine ecosystems. Made up of the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas America’s Arctic Ocean is facing accelerating and dramatic changes due to climate change and proposals for massive and risky oil and gas development at the same time. The actions of the Obama administration give rise for much hope but also much concern.
- ARTICLE: Melting Arctic Ice Clears Way for Shipping, Fishing, Oil Drilling … and Major Problems
- ARTICLE: Continuing challenge to Arctic OCS drilling
- ARTICLE: Salazar closes in on offshore drilling decision
- ARTICLE: Floridians protest offshore oil drilling
- ARTICLE: ExxonMobil hits total depth at Point Thomson
- ARTICLE: Alaska's Rogue Star: Spill Baby, Spill
- ARTICLE: US Fish & Wildlife Service chief Sam Hamilton dies
- ARTICLE: TransCanada defends gas pipeline project
- ARTICLE: US misses deadline for drill study
- ARTICLE: Obama reaffirms pledge of 'tough decisions' on new OCS areas
- UPDATE: Ocean Policy Task Force and National Ocean Policy: On the side of hope, the Obama Administration’s Ocean Policy Task Force will soon submit final recommendations for a new National Ocean Policy, and an implementation strategy to President Obama. We anticipate these recommendations will remain strong and include environmental stewardship of Arctic Ocean as a “national priority objective.” We hope that President Obama will soon adopt the recommendations, which will provide the authority and framework needed to protect our Arctic marine and coastal ecosystems in a comprehensive manner.
- UPDATE: We are concerned that while we await the outcome Secretary of the Interior Salazar’s court-ordered review of the Bush administrations oil and gas leasing plans for the Arctic Ocean and Bristol Bay the Department of Interior (DOI) is moving toward development in these waters. Recently DOI opted to defend the illegal Lease Sale 193 in the Chukchi Sea, held under the Bush Plan in 2008, and has approved exploratory drilling by Shell Oil on some of these leases.
