Protect the Arctic from an Oil Spill Disaster
- by: Sierra Club
- recipient: President Obama and Interior Secretary Jewell
25 years ago, the 987-foot Exxon Valdez oil tanker struck Bligh Reef, spilling 10.8 million gallons of toxic crude oil into Alaska's Prince William Sound.
On the 25th anniversary of this disaster many species have yet to recover and the fishing economy of the region has never fully bounced back.
And now, on the eve of this anniversary, we saw another major oil spill threatening wildlife and the economy in Texas' Galveston Bay. The threat of catastrophic oil spills have not diminished and the Arctic could be next!
Each year Shell Oil pushes to drill in America's Arctic -- but the Arctic's extreme weather, harsh cold, sea ice, winter darkness and sensitive wildlife make it the last place we should be drilling for oil.
Protect the Arctic from another oil spill disaster. Tell the Obama Administration to cancel all current Arctic drilling leases and halt all future lease sales!
Dear President Obama and Secretary Jewell,
The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled that the Department of the Interior failed to conduct an adequate environmental impact assessment before selling large areas in the Arctic Ocean for oil and gas exploration. Now Shell has announced that it cannot drill in 2014.
Drilling in the Arctic is a dangerous and risky business--for companies' bottom lines, for the environment, and for our climate. Downplaying those risks does not make them go away, as Shell's disastrous experience in 2012 demonstrated.
It's clear that the Arctic Ocean is the last place we should be drilling for oil. The Arctic seas are home to a unique plethora of wildlife, including the entire US population of polar bears and serve as an important migration route for bowhead and beluga whales. They are also home to some of the most extreme and dangerous conditions on the planet, and to stores of carbon pollution that could dramatically alter our climate if released, negating positive steps to fight the climate crisis.
[Your comments will go here]
I am urging you to terminate the current leases in the Chukchi Sea and to cancel the process to offer new leases in the Arctic Ocean.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
