Dear Rich, (( VERY IMPORTANT PLEASE SUPPORT )) America’s Arctic is ground zero for climate change. It’s warming twice as fast as the rest of the world. To add insult to injury, Big Oil wants to drill in the Arctic Ocean, which would even further accelerate climate change. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is asking for comments as it considers another lease sale for oil drilling in the Chukchi Sea. Let the Obama administration know that selling oil leases in the Chukchi Sea is a move away from a clean energy economy and towards a deeper reliance on dirty fossil fuels that cause climate change. Offshore drilling in the Arctic leads to a cycle that reinforces climate disruption. Not only would burning oil produced from the region pump more carbon into the atmosphere, but the drilling operations themselves would emit black carbon or soot that would be deposited on the ice, where it does the most harm. Soot causes heat to be absorbed rather than reflected by the ice. Because the Arctic ice cap acts like a refrigerator for the planet, less Arctic sea ice means a warmer planet and a change in climate patterns. Drilling for oil in the Arctic Ocean is not consistent with a responsible course to combat climate change, something the president has committed to in his second term. There are other reasons the administration needs to reassess its course in the Arctic Ocean. The failures of Shell Oil’s drilling efforts last year demonstrate that industry is not ready to handle Arctic offshore conditions. Basic information is missing to assess the impacts of drilling in the Arctic Ocean, let alone responsibly manage it. And no technology currently exists to clean up oil spilled in frozen seas. These clear warning signs led attorneys in our Alaska office to file suit to keep risky drilling schemes from proceeding. It is not worth the risk to put oil drilling rigs into sensitive waters where an oil spill could have catastrophic effects. Tell the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management not to hold any more lease sales in the Chukchi Sea and to reevaluate current plans to drill in these remote waters. Sincerely, Kari Birdseye National Press Secretary
Posted on: Tue, 29 Oct 2013 02:17:58 +0000
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