In a terrible blow to our climate's health, the federal government granted Shell Oil its permit to start oil drilling in Alaska's Chukchi Sea last week -- and the company's first drillship has now arrived in the Arctic.
The day after President Barack Obama approved initial drilling in the Arctic, the Environmental Protection Agency also issued an air-permit waiver letting Shell breeze past clean-air standards. In June the corporation requested a threefold increase in nitrogen oxide emissions and a tenfold increase in harmful particulate matter emissions.
Shell may have ignored pollution safeguards, but no one can ignore the dangers of drilling in the Far North. It's impossible to clean an oil spill in the Arctic's icy waters and harsh weather: Hundreds of polar bears, migratory birds and whales are now in imminent peril.
Take action to demand the Obama administration refuse Shell's request for a drilling-season extension, read more of the BloombergBusinessweek article, and watch this video of Shell's drillship arriving in the Arctic.
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