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ARCTIC OCEAN (Beaufort, Chukchi, Bering Seas)


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 environments. Made up of the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, America’s Arctic Ocean is facing accelerating and dramatic changes due to climate change, along with proposals for massive and risky oil and gas development.

  • UPDATE: There will be no drilling in America's Arctic Ocean this summer!  In late May, President Obama announced his decision to postpone Arctic offshore drilling until at least 2011, saying: "All drilling must be safe."  We extend our gratitude and thanks to President Obama and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar for their decision to suspend Shell Oil's plans for drilling in the Arctic Ocean this summer. We look forward to working with the administration to develop a comprehensive plan for the Arctic that determines if, when, where and how development should occur in the Arctic Ocean - and above all ensure that any development in these pristine waters is only allowed to proceed when it can be done safely. Click here to thank President Obama  and Secretary Salazar for sparing America's Arctic from offshore drilling this summer.

 UPDATE: Minerals and Management Service split is a good first step -  Alaska Wilderness League sincerely hopes that Sec. Salazar’s announcement to split up the Minerals and Management Service will begin a new era at The Department of the Interior where the oil industry will no longer have undue influence over oil and gas development decisions in our nation’s offshore areas. For many years now, MMS has been plagued with controversy – MMS’s Alaska regional office in particular was singled out in a recent Government Accountability Office report .  In Alaska, it is obvious that the relationship between industry and MMS has been much too cozy.  

  • UPDATE: Fool to the oil industries no more - As the BP Gulf disaster continues, we learn more about how statements by oil companies range from exaggeration to outright deception. In the Arctic, Shell made similar claims about their plans to drill in the Arctic Ocean as those made by BP about drilling in the Gulf, such as: “A large oil spill, such as crude release from a blowout, is extremely rare and not considered a reasonable foreseeable impact.” See BP and Shell statements in our advertisement here: http://www.alaskawild.org/wp-content/files/ArcticAd_5-20-10.pdf
  • UPDATE: Congress joined effort to delay Arctic drilling – Seventy-eight members of Congress sent a letter to President Obama in May urging him to delay Shell Oil’s plans for exploratory drilling in the Arctic Ocean. The letter, spearheaded by Reps. Jay Inslee (D-WA), Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) and Lois Capps (D-CA), asked the president to halt this summer’s Arctic drilling plans until the causes of the Deepwater Horizon disaster are known and “the administration has subsequently put into place improved and rigorous prevention technology requirements.”  If you would like to know if your representative signed this letter, please email me and I’ll let you know. If your representative did sign on, we’d love to have you thank them!

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