Activists say #ShellNo after Obama greenlights Arctic drilling

[Baclava]

Environmentalists warn of ecological disaster if Shell is allowed to drill



US activists are reigniting efforts to stop Arctic oil drilling, after the Obama administration gave a conditional approval to Royal Dutch Shell's exploration plan.

The move is seen as a major win for the oil industry, which has long wanted to drill in the Chukchi Sea off the coast of Alaska. An estimated 20 per cent of the world's undiscovered supply of oil and natural gas is located in the Arctic

http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/201505121524-0024750

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This plan is so fucked up - hell, just let them drill on land, at least a blow out there would be less destructive to the environment.

[RiverLover]

1. Just another republican-esque slap in the face, to our planet, to our waters.

He opened up the Atlantic coast & the Ohio River for fracking, the Gulf is still being risked everyday, why should we expect differently now in Alaska? Its just what a rethug would do.

[Baclava]

2. "The nearest Coast Guard Station is 1000 mi away"

Sounds pretty crazy to me.


Can Shell Drill Safely in the Arctic?

Experts say the Arctic poses many challenges for drillers. It's hard to move workers and material around. The cold weather can destroy equipment and shut down operations. Heavy seas can flip ships and floating drilling rigs, while the nearest Coast Guard station is 1,000 miles away.

New technology designed to withstand Arctic temperatures can help, but a big spill would be difficult if not impossible to clean up.

"If you have a significant oil spill in the ocean, there will be significant environmental consequences and none of them are good," said Paul W. Bommer, professor of petroleum engineering at the University of Texas who worked with the federal government's "plume team" to estimate the amount of oil escaping from BP’s Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.

Shell officials counter that they and other oil firms have drilled 500 test wells in the Arctic region without a spill. They also say that the shallower water of the Chukchi Sea means that the pressure on the wellheads will be less, and that it will be easier to access should something to wrong.

Shell spokeswoman Kayla Macke said in an email statement that preventing a spill is the company's number one priority.

"We have built an industry-leading capability in preventing spills and in our readiness to respond to any that occur. We regularly test our plans and preparedness, and take part in large-scale joint exercises with other industry partners, government agencies, scientists and oil spill experts," Macke said.

"If any system or device fails, a back-up system or device immediately takes over to prevent a well blowout. For our drilling operations in Alaska, we have a robust response program consisting of a dedicated on-site fleet, near-shore barges and response vessels and onshore response teams. And, in the event of a worst-case scenario, we have developed technologies that can track and remove spilled oil from solid and broken ice."

Under the terms of the drilling agreement, Shell can only work in the region during the ice-free months during the summer and fall. The oil giant had started drilling test wells in 2012 when its oil drilling barge the Kullik, broke free from a tow rope during heavy seas and ran aground on an uninhabited island in the Bering Sea. The 2013 Coast Guard report blamed Shell and the tow operator for the near-disaster.

http://news.discovery.com/earth/oceans/can-shell-drill-safely-in-the-arctic-150513.htm

[RiverLover]

4. Criminy. This is like begging for a disaster. Is Shell prepared to pay for clean-up? Like BP wasn'

t?

Will any price be worth the killing of more wildlife in the Artic for Oil Profits?

[Baclava]

6. I don't understand it at all.

and I'm not buying that whole "out of sight out of mind" thing - even a "little" spill would be so disastrous

maybe we're gonna use the drill rigs to spy on the Russians - I might believe that

[Blue_In_AK]

17. Why should we trust them

after last summer's debacle?

[Baclava]

18. "Preventing a spill is the company's number one priority"

riiiiiiiiiiiight

[AgingAmerican]

3. What is it with Obama and oil?

I don't get it.

[Sunlei]

5. Is anyone going to scrutinize the DOI federal and Alaska state- permits Shell got?

before they start drilling?

[Baclava]

7. "Shell can only work in the region during the ice-free months during the summer and fall"

and what happens when some "accident" happens to the rig/platform when no one is around?

Who in the hell is signing off on the Risk Assessment?

[Sunlei]

8. Shell said they have the permits required by State & Feds Someone should check the permits for lies.

[Baclava]

9. looks like they don't have everything yet

The Arctic Ocean's open-water season begins in July and closes a few months later in cold, dark, conditions with some of the most treacherous storms on the planet.

WHAT ELSE IS NEEDED BEFORE SHELL CAN DRILL?

The company cleared a major hurdle on Monday when the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management approved the company's multiyear drilling plan. However, it still needs several approvals from state and federal agencies before it can drill.

These include a land-use permit for Goodhope Bay from the state of Alaska. Shell spokesman Curtis Smith says he expects that permit to be issued within the next few weeks. The public comment period on this ended April 30.

Shell also is awaiting a drilling permit from the federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement and authorizations related to wastewater discharge from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, among others.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/stake-debate-arctic-drilling-31035044

[Sunlei]

11. they probably will get the permits.wish someone checks the approved permits for lies.

Once they have permits in order, they start drilling.

Alaska State gov. does not seem to care at all about the damages done to land (surface and bay gold mining) the fishing industry or the sea-drilling regulated by State of Alaska and the Federal Gov.

[G_j]

10. Obama the 'climate hero'

NOT! What are the odds the XL Keystone pipeline gets approved?

[Sunlei]

12. Pres. O has always said , "once they get all the Federal & State permits approved"

[Baclava]

13. Why is the FBI spying on opponents of the Keystone XL pipeline?

A new report confirms for the first time that the FBI spied on activists in Texas who tried to stop the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. Documents from the FBI reveal it failed to get approval before it cultivated informants and opened its investigation, which was run from its Houston field office. The files document "substantial non-compliance" with Department of Justice rules.

The Tar Sands Blockade mentioned in that report was one of the main groups targeted by the FBI. Agents in Houston office also told TransCanada they would share "pertinent intelligence regarding any threats" to the company in advance of protests

http://www.democracynow.org/2015/5/13/as_internal_docs_show_major_overreach

[RiverLover]

14. So when the people we vote for don't represent us & our positions once elected, and all we have left

is protesting, they take that away too through arrests & intimidation.

The Corporate Coup has already taken place.

[Baclava]

15. This is what political pressure from the government actually looks like.

Pipeline Blues: You And What Army

In which we learn that the FBI can protect things that are not built yet.



What in the hell is the FBI doing having private planning sessions with a foreign company?

Not much of the disputed stretch of it is being built. So, it is fair to conclude that what the FBI and TransCanada really were cooking up was a counter-propaganda operation using the investigative auspices of the FBI. In other words, the FBI office in Houston joined in ratfking the opposition to the pipeline.

http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a34992/the-fbi-and-the-pipeline/

[Blue_In_AK]

16. Good luck with that, activists.

I wish them a lot of success, because I'm really sick about this decision, but I'm not holding out much hope. Cleaning up an oil spill under ice is going to be a nightmare.