Environmental News 6.7.13, Part II: North to the Arctic, Way Up North – The Rush is ON! As everyone expected, the ice melt in the Arctic is being seen as a huge, financial opportunity for oil and gas companies, and, Norway is already getting ready to award licence blocks to the big six energy companies for exploration. E. On, Centrica and RWE Npower are already circling the Barents Sea, but, before exploration can start, they are claiming that ‘robost environment surveys will be carried out to find vulnerable species and environmental sensitivities.’ Greenpeace and other environmental groups doubt that identified environmental vulnerabilities will prevent drilling and consequent oil spills however and point out that if there were a spill, for example, it would be impossible to clean up. "Because of its remote location, the extreme conditions and the cold water [it will be] harder for the oil to be cleaned up or to degrade, meaning its stays in the environment longer. That’s why a big oil spill in the Arctic would be catastrophic – for the human who live there and the wildlife they share it with. " Said Greenpeace spokesman, Ben Ayliffe. “…half of the big six energy suppliers have now turned their attention to the Arctic. Customers of these companies probably didn’t realise that their rocketing bills would pay for fossil fuel exploration in a vulnerable region of breathtaking beauty, and shareholders may be concerned to learn they’re on the hook for potentially astronomical clean-up bills when the inevitable spills occur. ”he said. telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/10160414/Three-of-big-6-plan-look-to-drilling-in-Arctic.html .
Posted on: Fri, 05 Jul 2013 20:58:08 +0000
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