Protect The Arctic From Risky Oil Drilling

  • by: WWF
  • recipient: President Trump, Interior Secretary Zinke, and Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management Acting Director Cruickshank
Every five years, the U.S. Department of the Interior issues a plan outlining where oil and gas companies can purchase leases for offshore drilling.

The most recent five-year plan excluded new oil and gas leasing in the Arctic waters offshore of Alaska. But this month, the Trump administration is initiating a process to revise the plan, which could lead to the removal of Arctic protections and the authorization of new leasing in this fragile and spectacular place.

The Obama administration rightly kept the Arctic out of the recent five-year plan in order to protect the marine mammals, seabirds, migratory paths, and other sensitive habitats in the Arctic. Alaska Native communities continue to depend on the health of these subsistence resources.

Oil spill response methods are ineffective in broken ice and other severe weather conditions in the Arctic – making any large oil spill or well blowout catastrophic for the amazing life in the Arctic Ocean.

There's simply too much at stake to allow risky oil drilling in the Arctic. Instead, the US needs to accelerate our nation's transition to a renewable energy future.

The good news is that the decision hasn't yet been made. The Trump administration is holding multiple comment periods where experts and private citizens like yourself can speak up to provide input on what they should do. To save the Arctic, we must all speak up now.

Sign our public comment to President Trump, Interior Secretary Zinke, and Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management Acting Director Cruickshank, and tell them you do not want new offshore oil drilling in America's Arctic.
Subject: No New Offshore Oil Drilling in America's Arctic

Dear President Trump, Secretary Zinke, and Acting Director Cruickshank,

Please keep the Beaufort Sea and Chukchi Sea planning areas out of consideration for any new oil and gas leasing as you move forward with the revision of the Five-Year Program.

I’m deeply concerned about the risk new offshore oil drilling could pose for the Arctic, especially when considering the remoteness of the Arctic offshore region and the extreme weather conditions. A large oil spill could have catastrophic effects on the Arctic’s fragile environment and unique wildlife species, as well as the Arctic communities that depend on them.

On top of that, drilling in the Arctic will release black carbon pollution directly onto Arctic ice, which will accelerate melting and put sea ice-dependent species at even greater risk. It will also promote continued reliance on fossil fuels. Rather than paving the way for risky Arctic oil, we need to accelerate our nation’s transition to clean, renewable energy sources.

The decision to keep the Arctic out of the Five-Year Program made a lot of sense. Please do not allow risky oil and gas drilling in these one-of-a-kind waters when we lack essential scientific information and an effective plan to clean up an oil spill in the Arctic's extreme conditions. There is too much at stake, and the risks are far too high.

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