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Environmentalists cheered the news in April that ConocoPhillips had halted its plans for risky Arctic drilling.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), ConocoPhillips launched the first FAA-approved commercial drone flight into the Arctic air above the Chukchi Sea on September 12.
A research vessel carried four drones made by Boeing subsidiary Insitu, "a pioneer leader in the design, development, production and operation of high-performance, cost-effective unmanned aircraft systems (UAS)."
One ScanEagle drone, what Institu describes as a "go-to solution for civilian and military customers," carried out "marine mammal and ice surveys necessary to meet environmental and safety rules before drilling on the sea floor."
Ed Crooks reported in the Financial Times that "Conoco said ScanEagles could be used to monitor ice floes and whale movements, keeping it informed of potential threats or environmental risks while drilling in Arctic seas."
The Center for Biological Diversity, a group that has warned of the environmental risks of drilling for fossil fuels in the Arctic for years, cautioned against seeing surveillance from drones as making drilling any safer.
"Watching from a drone or a hot-air balloon or an airplane won't change a simple fact down below: Drilling in the Arctic is flirting with serious danger and an oil spill would be disastrous and impossible to clean up," Rebecca Noblin, Alaska Director for the Center for Biological Diversity told Common Dreams.
Also, according to the FAA, this is just the beginning of drones in the Arctic:
The September ScanEagle flights are just the start of the FAA Arctic Plan. Small UAS in the Arctic can benefit many operations, such as scientific research, search and rescue, fisheries, marine mammal observers, oil and gas leaseholders and maritime route planners. The project is giving the FAA and industry needed experience and a path forward to certify UAS for more commercial operations, both in the Arctic and elsewhere.
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Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), ConocoPhillips launched the first FAA-approved commercial drone flight into the Arctic air above the Chukchi Sea on September 12.
A research vessel carried four drones made by Boeing subsidiary Insitu, "a pioneer leader in the design, development, production and operation of high-performance, cost-effective unmanned aircraft systems (UAS)."
One ScanEagle drone, what Institu describes as a "go-to solution for civilian and military customers," carried out "marine mammal and ice surveys necessary to meet environmental and safety rules before drilling on the sea floor."
Ed Crooks reported in the Financial Times that "Conoco said ScanEagles could be used to monitor ice floes and whale movements, keeping it informed of potential threats or environmental risks while drilling in Arctic seas."
The Center for Biological Diversity, a group that has warned of the environmental risks of drilling for fossil fuels in the Arctic for years, cautioned against seeing surveillance from drones as making drilling any safer.
"Watching from a drone or a hot-air balloon or an airplane won't change a simple fact down below: Drilling in the Arctic is flirting with serious danger and an oil spill would be disastrous and impossible to clean up," Rebecca Noblin, Alaska Director for the Center for Biological Diversity told Common Dreams.
Also, according to the FAA, this is just the beginning of drones in the Arctic:
The September ScanEagle flights are just the start of the FAA Arctic Plan. Small UAS in the Arctic can benefit many operations, such as scientific research, search and rescue, fisheries, marine mammal observers, oil and gas leaseholders and maritime route planners. The project is giving the FAA and industry needed experience and a path forward to certify UAS for more commercial operations, both in the Arctic and elsewhere.
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According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), ConocoPhillips launched the first FAA-approved commercial drone flight into the Arctic air above the Chukchi Sea on September 12.
A research vessel carried four drones made by Boeing subsidiary Insitu, "a pioneer leader in the design, development, production and operation of high-performance, cost-effective unmanned aircraft systems (UAS)."
One ScanEagle drone, what Institu describes as a "go-to solution for civilian and military customers," carried out "marine mammal and ice surveys necessary to meet environmental and safety rules before drilling on the sea floor."
Ed Crooks reported in the Financial Times that "Conoco said ScanEagles could be used to monitor ice floes and whale movements, keeping it informed of potential threats or environmental risks while drilling in Arctic seas."
The Center for Biological Diversity, a group that has warned of the environmental risks of drilling for fossil fuels in the Arctic for years, cautioned against seeing surveillance from drones as making drilling any safer.
"Watching from a drone or a hot-air balloon or an airplane won't change a simple fact down below: Drilling in the Arctic is flirting with serious danger and an oil spill would be disastrous and impossible to clean up," Rebecca Noblin, Alaska Director for the Center for Biological Diversity told Common Dreams.
Also, according to the FAA, this is just the beginning of drones in the Arctic:
The September ScanEagle flights are just the start of the FAA Arctic Plan. Small UAS in the Arctic can benefit many operations, such as scientific research, search and rescue, fisheries, marine mammal observers, oil and gas leaseholders and maritime route planners. The project is giving the FAA and industry needed experience and a path forward to certify UAS for more commercial operations, both in the Arctic and elsewhere.
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