Five million tons of oil are accidentally released into rivers, streams and the Arctic Ocean every year in Russia. That's like having SIX BP disasters every year in polar bears' backyard.
Much of Russia's soil is poisoned, its fish are dead. Even deer hunting has vanished in Russian villages where oil is the only industry.
And yet this problem flies under the radar because much of the oil devastation takes place in sparsely populated regions of the country, where oil-dependent communities are afraid to support environmental protections. Russian law is also complicit.
Russia logged 18,000 pipeline ruptures last year. By comparison, the US is the world's third largest oil producer and logged 341 pipe ruptures during the same time period. These leaks may not be as dramatic as Deepwater Horizon, but they do just as much damage.
Tell Russia to stop allowing countless animals to suffocate beneath the tons of oil it leaks each year.
We the undersigned demand that you take much stronger action to prevent spills associated with Russia's oil industry. Putting the needs of your oil industry above everything else has resulted in mass destruction of wildlife and waterways. And it now appears that this ongoing devastation is avoidable. Russia needs to replace and fix its leaky oil pipe lines and fine companies that fail to comply with clean water standards. Letting leaks of less than eight tons go unnoticed is unconscionable! You have a duty not only to your own human and wildlife populations, but to the world to contain your oil!
