http://www.livescience.com/41744-arctic-drilling-brings-disaster.html
[multiple images and links in on-line article]
In a Warming Arctic, Oil Drilling Brings Disaster (Op-Ed)
Frances Beinecke, President, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
December 05, 2013 07:05pm ET
Frances Beinecke is the president of NRDC — an environmental advocacy
organization with 1.4 million supporters nationwide — served on the
National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore
Drilling, and holds a leadership role in several environmental
organizations. Beinecke contributed this article to LiveScience's Expert
Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.
Shell Oil recently announced plans to resume drilling operations in
the Arctic Ocean this summer. The company suffered a string of failures
when it tried to drill there last year — from having its emergency
equipment "crushed like a beer can" in tests to grounding its drill rig
in a winter storm. But these fiascoes haven't stopped Shell. The company
is determined to gamble with pristine ocean waters once again.
Yet even as the oil giant draws up drilling plans, the Arctic continues
to feel the brunt of climate change. Last year, the extent of sea ice in
the Arctic was the smallest on record — just half the average coverage
of recent decades. This year was slightly better, but scientists say the
trend of shrinking ice will amplify global warming by darkening the
planet's surface and allowing more heat to be absorbed — ultimately
contributing to changing weather patterns that already threaten
communities in the United States and around the world, from New York to
the Philippines.
America doesn't need to trash the Arctic Ocean. We don't need to make
climate change worse with more dirty fuels. We have safer, cleaner ways
to power our economy. And we have the wisdom to recognize that some
places are too special to drill.
The United States is already embracing innovations that strengthen
energy security and preserve our natural heritage at the same time. Last
year, our nation raised fuel-efficiency standards for new cars to 54.5
miles per gallon — on average — by 2025. That's about double the mileage
our cars get today. These standards will save consumers $1.7 trillion at
the gas pump and reduce our oil imports by one-third — they will also
cut in half the amount of global-warming pollution coming from new cars.
Similar gains in efficiency have helped slash our fossil fuel use across
the economy. In fact, efficiency has done more to meet America's growing
energy needs in the last 40 years than oil, gas and nuclear combined.
Efficiency is our fastest growing energy resource, and together with
our enormous stores of wind, solar and other renewable power, it
represents the energy future. The United States has the ability to rely
100 percent on clean energy, and NRDC is committed to reaching that goal
as soon as possible.
This is the path forward for our nation. But if we continue to sacrifice
our communities and wild places by drilling for fuels that cause climate
change, we will find ourselves in a dead end.
This summer I stood on the coast of the Chukchi Sea, where Shell plans
to drill, and marveled at its wild shoreline, sculpted ice, and enormous
northern sky. I knew that underneath the surface, the sea was teeming
with life. Shellfish thrive along the long shallow floor, creating a
smorgasbord for walrus, seals, and gray whales. Roughly half of
America's polar bears live off the Chukchi. [Arctic Drilling Risks
Threaten Inupiat Traditions (Op-Ed)]
As I looked out to sea, I tried to imagine what would happen in the
event of an oil spill. When I served on the National Commission on the
BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, I saw how the
industry struggled to respond to a spill in the Gulf of Mexico. A spill
in the Arctic would prove far more challenging. Oil would be trapped
under ice for months, and the nearest back-up supply of response gear is
2,000 miles away.No oil company is a match for those remote and rugged
conditions.
The Arctic is the last wild ocean the planet has left, and it is already
suffering more from climate change than any other region on the planet.
We should safeguard it, not compromise it further with drill rigs and
carbon pollution. NRDC is fighting to block Shell from drilling so we
can keep these Arctic waters wild and pristine, and we are calling on
the administration of President Barack Obama to scrap plans to offer
more oil and gas leases in the Chukchi Sea.
And at the same time, NRDC continues to expand the energy solutions that
already clean up our air, put Americans to work and reduce the threat of
climate change. You can join the effort by going to NRDC's new site
DemandCleanPower.org. Together, we can build a clean energy future.
--
Darryl McMahon
Project Manager,
Common Assessment and Referral for Enhanced Support Services (CARESS)
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