ARCTIC:
Margaret Kriz Hobson, E&E reporter
Published: Friday, January 27, 2012
A group of 573 scientists today released a letter to President Obama asking him to stop oil drilling in Alaska's Arctic waters until experts can study the proposed oil development's impacts on sensitive Arctic ecosystems and native subsistence activities.
The letter, signed by such prominent scientists as National Geographic Society explorer Sylvia Earle and University of Alaska research professor Alan Springer, was sent to the White House the day before Obama's State of the Union address. The president used that speech to renew his support for expanded domestic offshore oil and gas development, which was stopped after the 2010 BP PLC oil spill.
Spearheaded by the Pew Environment Group, the letter is the latest step in the environmental community's advertising and education campaign to slow oil and gas development in Alaska's Chukchi and Beaufort seas. The Interior Department has already given conditional green lights to proposals by Royal Dutch Shell PLC to explore for oil this summer in both regions (Greenwire, Dec. 19, 2011).
In the letter, the scientists asked the administration to follow through on the recommendations of a June U.S. Geological Survey study, which identified gaps in the scientific knowledge about the Arctic ecosystems. The USGS report called for additional research on the region's physical and biological characteristics, examination of drilling impacts on sensitive species and better inclusion of traditional knowledge from Arctic residents.
"We want to make it a high priority for the administration to really focus in on the safety, the science, the challenges in the Arctic and the need for more of a comprehensive innovative research and monitoring program that guides decisions about where and how drilling can take place," said Marilyn Heiman, director of Pew Environment Group's U.S. Arctic program.
Pew's campaign to slow oil development in the U.S. Arctic began in December with online ads and broadcast commercials, including advertisements after the State of the Union address on CNN and MSNBC. Next week, the group is also running ads in The New York Times and other media outlets.
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ARCTIC:
Margaret Kriz Hobson, E&E reporter
Published: Friday, January 27, 2012
A group of 573 scientists today released a letter to President Obama asking him to stop oil drilling in Alaska's Arctic waters until experts can study the proposed oil development's impacts on sensitive Arctic ecosystems and native subsistence activities.
The letter, signed by such prominent scientists as National Geographic Society explorer Sylvia Earle and University of Alaska research professor Alan Springer, was sent to the White House the day before Obama's State of the Union address. The president used that speech to renew his support for expanded domestic offshore oil and gas development, which was stopped after the 2010 BP PLC oil spill.
Spearheaded by the Pew Environment Group, the letter is the latest step in the environmental community's advertising and education campaign to slow oil and gas development in Alaska's Chukchi and Beaufort seas. The Interior Department has already given conditional green lights to proposals by Royal Dutch Shell PLC to explore for oil this summer in both regions (Greenwire, Dec. 19, 2011).
In the letter, the scientists asked the administration to follow through on the recommendations of a June U.S. Geological Survey study, which identified gaps in the scientific knowledge about the Arctic ecosystems. The USGS report called for additional research on the region's physical and biological characteristics, examination of drilling impacts on sensitive species and better inclusion of traditional knowledge from Arctic residents.
"We want to make it a high priority for the administration to really focus in on the safety, the science, the challenges in the Arctic and the need for more of a comprehensive innovative research and monitoring program that guides decisions about where and how drilling can take place," said Marilyn Heiman, director of Pew Environment Group's U.S. Arctic program.
Pew's campaign to slow oil development in the U.S. Arctic began in December with online ads and broadcast commercials, including advertisements after the State of the Union address on CNN and MSNBC. Next week, the group is also running ads in The New York Times and other media outlets.
Sent from my BlackBerry -----Original Message----- From: Richard Charter Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:38:32 To: Outer Continental Shelf List Reply-To: Richard Charter Subject: [ocs] Arctic: The Scientists Letter ---------------------------- You are currently subscribed to ocs as: carlwassilie.acyn@gmail.com To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-ocs-394613N@groups.b-team.org
Are you absolutely sure you want to delete this article? This process cannot be undone and is permanent.
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