May, 13 2011, 01:18pm EDT
Center for Biological Diversity Statement on Shell's Submission of Its Chukchi Sea Exploration Plan for 2012-2013
In response to Shell's submission of its Chukchi Sea exploration plan for 2012-2013 to the Interior Department, Center for Biological Diversity Alaska director Rebecca Noblin made the following statement:
"Despite all the rhetoric about oil-spill response and containment systems, Shell still has no realistic plan for dealing with an oil spill in the harsh, icy conditions of the Arctic Ocean. Without the infrastructure and the technology to address a large oil spill, Shell cannot legally drill in the Arctic.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska
In response to Shell's submission of its Chukchi Sea exploration plan for 2012-2013 to the Interior Department, Center for Biological Diversity Alaska director Rebecca Noblin made the following statement:
"Despite all the rhetoric about oil-spill response and containment systems, Shell still has no realistic plan for dealing with an oil spill in the harsh, icy conditions of the Arctic Ocean. Without the infrastructure and the technology to address a large oil spill, Shell cannot legally drill in the Arctic.
"Shell's plan shows that it has learned nothing from its legal troubles or from the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Shell's current plan is unprecedented in scope, proposing to drill more wells, using more support vessels than ever.
"Ramping up Arctic development when there's no way to deal with an oil spill is dangerous and illegal. Arctic wildlife, including polar bears and walruses, are already struggling as their sea-ice home melts beneath them. They simply cannot withstand a large oil spill at this precarious time.
"Given the urgent imperative to transition to a clean-energy future to preserve a safe climate and the web of life we all depend on, opening the Arctic to dirty and risky oil development defies common sense.
"We call on the Obama administration to reject Shell's illegal and unwise Arctic drilling plans."
At the Center for Biological Diversity, we believe that the welfare of human beings is deeply linked to nature — to the existence in our world of a vast diversity of wild animals and plants. Because diversity has intrinsic value, and because its loss impoverishes society, we work to secure a future for all species, great and small, hovering on the brink of extinction. We do so through science, law and creative media, with a focus on protecting the lands, waters and climate that species need to survive.
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