Offshore Drilling // Current

Appeals court rules against Bush administration Arctic drilling plan

The Bush administration authorization of a major new offshore oil drilling program in the Arctic Ocean was dealt a serious setback Thursday when a federal appeals court ruled the plan did not adequately consider the effect on bowhead whales and the native villagers who make their living from the frigid coastal waters.

Ruling on the first of several major new projects for tapping oil and gas deposits from the Arctic floor, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said the federal government should have prepared a more exhaustive environmental review before concluding that harm to whales, caribou and other Arctic wildlife either would be insignificant or could be mitigated.

In a 2-1 decision, the court ordered the federal Minerals Management Agency to prepare a more thorough review, a decision that probably puts the offshore exploration plan up for new consideration under the administration of Barack Obama. Environmentalists have fought the plan, saying it could have disastrous consequences for Arctic wildlife.

I think the new administration can respond to this decision by calling for a timeout on new exploration and leasing in the Arctic Ocean until a full review of potential impacts and conservation measures is completed, said Eric Jorgensen, managing attorney at Earthjustice in Juneau, Alaska.

Rebecca Noblin of the Center for Biological Diversity, one of several plaintiffs in the case, said in a statement: If polar bears and other ice-dependent species are to survive as the Arctic melts in the face of global warming, we need to protect their critical habitat, not turn it into an industrial zone.

Officials at Shell Offshore Inc., which has proposed to drill up to 12 exploratory wells in the Arctic s Beaufort Sea over the next three years, said they were convinced that the company had met or exceeded requirements for environmental analysis -- including how noise from exploratory drilling might affect the migration patterns of fish, endangered bowhead whales and caribou, which give birth in the nearby Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The U.S. faces an energy supply crisis, and delays like this only extend and aggravate it. In times of shrinking global supply and ever increasing reliance on imported oil, the Alaska offshore could be a significant resource for national energy security, Shell said in a statement.

Republican Gov. Sarah Palin, who has urged the nation to take better advantage of Alaska s untapped oil and gas resources, expressed determination to get the project back on track.

We re disappointed, but will work with the company moving forward from here, said her chief spokesman, Bill McAllister.
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Oh, do not worry, drilling is environmentally safe. That is the rhetoric we hear from proponents who want to drill baby, drill. And that is all it is... rhetoric. There is no way to drill for oil that will not affect the wildlife and inhabitants in this area. Time and time again the Bush regime has shown its total disdain for the environment and the lives of those their destructive policies touch. This ruling by the 9th circuit court of appeals reaffirms that the rule of law takes precedence over any man or woman (Governor Palin, I am pointing at YOU) and their greed.

Instead of calculating ways to now steal the resources below the Arctic for corporate profit we should be working on ways to preserve it and its habitat for future generations and those who live there now. This is also one area I will be looking at regarding the Obama administration. Drilling is a false choice and if Obama and his Congress permit this to happen just to not piss off Republicans who want it over the moral imperative, it will speak volumes about their priorities as well. Bi-partisanship is one thing, but capitulation to an immoral principle for political expedience is quite another.The Bush administration authorization of a major new offshore oil drilling program in the Arctic Ocean was dealt a serious setback... more

JanforGore
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10 days ago

US Government studies offshore drilling in mid-Atlantic

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The federal government has taken the first step in 25 years toward offshore drilling in the mid-Atlantic,... more

bansheewail
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4 responses

17 days ago

US government begins offshore drilling study on Atlantic coast

The US government has taken the first step in 25 years toward offshore drilling in the mid-Atlantic region, launching a study of a... more

jefftego
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0 responses

18 days ago

Revolution 08

Coldcut vs TV Sheriff "Revolution '08" Music Video

donkeyfly69
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12 responses

1 month ago

so you think you can be president?

the real debate

donkeyfly69
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4 responses

1 month ago

20bn barrel oil discovery puts Cuba in the big league | World news | The Guardian

Cuba's government announced there may be more than 20 billion barrels of recoverable oil in offshore fields in Cuba's... more

jspace
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1 month ago

Help endangered Beluga whales {Petition}

Please Sign Petition! Protect the Habitat of Endangered Beluga Whales NOW!

Target: James Balsiger, NOAA Acting Assistant Administrator

Sponsored by: Ocean River Institute
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/937474107?z00m=17355045

On October 17, NOAA's Fisheries Service determined that the Cook Inlet beluga whales would be listed under the Endangered Species Act. This is a great victory for these irreplaceable creatures!

This success is, however, bittersweet - the whales are still an endangered species, and we need to do everything we can to protect their habitat. With their numbers having fallen steadily since 1979 to only 302 whales today, the beluga is in danger of extinction throughout its range in Alaska!

These whales are in trouble the Cook Inlet beluga population was estimated at 1,293 in 1979. Since then the population has fallen steadily until there were only 302 in 2006, the most recent count.

The low numbers and shrinking population causes Cook Inlet beluga whales to be much more vulnerable to all natural sources of mortality, such as disease, predation and stranding. Limiting their range to portions of Cook Inlet, the belugas are particularly vulnerable to human caused sources of whale weakening and mortality as well. Oil drilling tailings are not regulated. Sewage insufficiently treated; non-point source and storm overflows are untreated. Heavy metals, petro-chemicals and endocrine disruptive chemicals bio-accumulate in the fat tissues of belugas and are magnified when passed from mother to calf.

Such persistent pollutants can affect the fertility and reproductive rate of whales. Meanwhile, ship traffic through Cook Inlet is increasing with Anchorage Port exceeding the projected tonnage growth rate of 2.5 percent per year.

Alaska's marine ecosystems and fisheries are particularly vulnerable to the immediate impacts of global warming temperature variations and carbon-loading of the atmosphere. A third of increased atmospheric carbon goes into the ocean causing acidification of seawater and further challenging marine invertebrates in Cook Inlet, a vital part of the beluga's food pyramid. Taking management steps to avert these problems will not only save belugas, it will benefit Alaska's economy by increasing seafood value and tourism.

Join us in urging NMFS to follow through on their proposal to designate critical habitat for the Cook Inlet beluga whale now that it is an endangered species. Only by addressing troubled waters in Cook Inlet can beluga whales recover and thrive once again.
Please Sign Petition! Protect the Habitat of Endangered Beluga Whales NOW! Target: James Balsiger, NOAA Acting Assistant... more

julesrs007
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8 responses

1 month ago

Somebody needs to "drill" this into McCain/Palin's head

As this article clearly states "the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently did a detailed study of the likely... more

korourke
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1 response

1 month ago

House Democrats will allow offshore drilling ban to expire

After months of high-pitched battles with Republicans over the issue of offshore drilling, House Democrats have given in and... more

jefftego
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0 responses

2 months ago

Chicago to slash greenhouse gases - Climate Change- msnbc.com

CHICAGO - Mayor Richard M. Daley has announced a plan to dramatically slash emissions of heat-trapping gases, part of an effort to... more

starr111
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2 responses

2 months ago

N.J. resisting idea of offshore oil wells

AVON, N.J. - With oil and gas drilling heating up as an issue in the presidential race, environmentalists and the governor... more

starr111
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9 responses

2 months ago

What’s in the House offshore-drilling bill?

The House of Representatives approved a bill Tuesday night that would relax the federal ban on offshore drilling and try to expand... more

huffamoose2k
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3 months ago

House passes bill allowing offshore drilling

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation Tuesday that lifts a longstanding ban on offshore oil... more

arcticspirit
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3 months ago

Breaking news: House energy bill passes 236-189

The House of Representatives passed legislation on Tuesday lifting a longstanding congressional moratorium on offshore drilling. ... more

julesrs007
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3 months ago

House Adopts Plan to Ease Offshore Drilling Ban - NYTimes.com

WASHINGTON — The House on Tuesday night approved a measure that would ease a longstanding ban on offshore oil drilling and try to spur greater use of alternative fuels as Democrats and Republicans engaged in a bitter pre-election clash over America’s energy future.

Under the Democratic legislation, adopted by a vote of 236 to 189, oil companies would lose some tax benefits, utilities would be required to produce 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020 and a ban on developing fuel from Rocky Mountain shale would be lifted.

The legislation, which faces significant hurdles to becoming law before Congress breaks at the end of the month, would allow drilling as close as 50 miles from the coastline if adjacent states agree and 100 miles out no matter a state’s position. It would impose stricter oversight on the agency that handles oil leasing and royalty payments after recent disclosures of improper relationships between its employees and oil industry representatives.

“We are opening up to 400 million acres off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts to drilling and expanding the availability of oil by at least 2 billion barrels,” said Representative Nick J. Rahall II, the West Virginia Democrat who leads the Natural Resources Committee. “And we have done so in a balanced, reasonable and responsible manner.”

Republicans, who have made political gains by portraying Democrats as flatly opposed to new drilling, said the measure was a sham intended to provide Democrats cover from voters furious over gas prices. They faulted it for failing to add incentives for coal and nuclear power and for not limiting environmental suits against drilling proposals. They also criticized Democrats for not negotiating with Republicans in writing the bill.

“We are engaged in exactly what the American people are sick of, and that is political games here in Washington that are intended to be political games and have no outcome,” said Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, the Republican leader.
WASHINGTON — The House on Tuesday night approved a measure that would ease a longstanding ban on offshore oil drilling and... more

starr111
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2 responses

3 months ago

Oil Spill Into Gulf of Mexico

--CNN's Ali Velshi falsely claimed "no oil shed into the Gulf of Mexico" from Hurricane Katrina during discussion... more

julesrs007
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11 responses

3 months ago

Oil sex scandal may affect drilling debate

A scandal involving sex, drugs and — uh, offshore oil drilling. It's a strange mix, and it couldn't have come... more

Ryz0n
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0 responses

3 months ago

No to offshore drilling by Santa Barbara city council

"Despite the county supervisors' recent vote supporting expanded oil drilling, the city, which has opposed more drilling since the infamous 1969 spill, stands firm.

Santa Barbara - With offshore oil drilling emerging as a hot issue in the presidential campaign, the City Council Tuesday night reaffirmed its opposition to drilling along the coastline where a 1969 spill gave rise to the Environmental Protection Agency and the modern environmental movement.

The action was designed to counter an Aug. 26 vote by Santa Barbara County supervisors urging Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to rethink his stance against offshore drilling.

Concerned by high gas prices and low county revenues, the divided supervisors made national headlines and triggered the city's show of support for long-established state and federal bans on additional drilling off the coast.

The city measure is symbolic as it has no authority over offshore drilling. But with Santa Barbara's reputation for environmental activism at stake, city officials did not want the county's measure to go unchallenged.

"Like it or not, we're at the eye of the storm when it comes to energy policy in the U.S.," said Councilwoman Helene Schneider.

The arguments Tuesday night reflected those laid before the supervisors at their eight-hour meeting in August. Drilling supporters said at that meeting that modern technology made the process safer, while opponents argued that it was still risky and would not substantially lower gasoline prices.

In a letter to the council, a Santa Barbara-based drilling advocacy group, SOS California, said the measure before the City Council did not reflect the views of city residents. "Times have changed," said the letter. "Attitudes have changed."

The issue has taken on national resonance, most recently with former GOP presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani exclaiming "Drill, baby, drill!" in his speech at the Republican national convention.

The council voted 5 to 1 for the measure, with Councilman Dale Francisco saying it was premature." In other words - Just Say No! "Despite the county supervisors' recent vote supporting expanded oil drilling, the city, which has opposed more... more