Cries of Betrayal, Calls to Organize as Obama Approves Arctic Drilling

[RiverLover]

Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Cries of Betrayal, Calls to Organize as Obama Approves Arctic Drilling

'With this decision, President Obama has given Shell an open invitation to turn the Chukchi Sea into an energy sacrifice zone,' said Marissa Knodel of Friends of the Earth

President Barack Obama on Wednesday afternoon gave the final go-ahead for Royal Dutch Shell PLC to drill for oil in the Chukchi Sea near Alaska, flouting fierce public opposition to the extraction over the severe danger it poses to the ocean ecosystem, climate, and coastal communities.

"The president has made a big mistake allowing Shell back into the Arctic," declared Center for Biological Diversity Alaska director Rebecca Noblin in a press statement released Wednesday. "The risks of a devastating oil spill in this harsh environment are just too great, particularly for a company with such poor performance record. This is a reckless move by a country that is still struggling to reduce its impact on global warming."

The permits granted Wednesday mean that the oil giant can commence with drilling exploratory wells as soon as its vessels and equipment reach the sea. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement announced it has included some conditions, limiting Shell to "drilling only the top sections of wells and prohibit Shell from drilling into oil-bearing zones."

But campaigners say that the restrictions are weak, and the fact that Shell will now be permitted to drill in the Arctic constitutes a deep betrayal of Obama's own pledge to make tackling climate change one of his top three priorities during his second term.

Moreover, the decision comes as scientists warn that to avert a climate catastrophe, the majority of fossil fuel deposits around the world must remain unused....

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/07/22/cries-betrayal-calls-organize-obama-approves-arctic-drilling

Repost from last wkd~

Kayaktivists Across the Country Paddle in Protest of Arctic Drilling
7/18/15



Environmentalists furious with President Barack Obama's continued support for Arctic drilling on Saturday descended on the White House and paddled onto waterways across the United States united in a call to end this dangerous expansion of our fossil fuel energy system.

In a display of solidarity with Seattle's 'kayaktivists'—who through repeated direct actions have tried to thwart Royal Dutch Shell's Arctic drilling plans—activists in Minnesota, Florida, Boston, Detroit, and elsewhere launched floating protests to denounce what they say is a "fool's journey" to drill for oil in the Chukchi Sea in the Alaskan Arctic.

#mpls says #ShellNo! pic.twitter.com/XAqDmAmHTV

— Lois Norrgard (@lnorr10) July 18, 2015



Meanwhile, in Washington D.C.'s Lafayette Park, protesters donned polar bear and walrus suits and held signs calling on the president to suspend Shell's permit. The oil giant's drilling fleet is currently making its way from the Port of Seattle to the Alaskan coast, where it could begin exploratory drilling as soon as next week, activists warn.



Happening Now: Enviros sound alarm on Arctic oil exploration and tell White House stop new drilling permits #ShellNo pic.twitter.com/FQ7oYzQNw5

— john zangas (@johnzangas) July 18, 2015

Environmentalists have repeatedly criticized Arctic drilling as one of the most dangerous and extreme forms of fossil fuel extraction, as it threatens one of the world's most pristine ecosystems while concurrently ensuring even greater carbon emissions....

READ MORE~
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/07/18/kayaktivists-across-country-paddle-protest-arctic-drilling

Rhea Suh, NRDC, penned the following excellent article about Arctic drilling & why its insane & needs to be stopped~

Stop Shell. Save the Arctic.
7/18/15

...As early as next week, the Royal Dutch Shell oil company could begin exploratory drilling in the Arctic, exposing these waters to the risk of devastating oil spills and ensuring more carbon pollution, which would undermine the gains our country is now making in the fight against climate change.



One of the last pristine oceans on earth, these waters support a rich web of marine and animal life, from tiny phytoplankton to majestic bowhead whales. Eiders, snowy owls and caribou live along the coast. And the ocean hosts some of the most productive fisheries anywhere in the world. Why would we put all that at risk, when our own government tells us there’s a 75 percent chance of a major oil spill if the Arctic leases in the Chukchi Sea are fully developed?

....SNIP of 2 pages of history of past spills & relevant facts....

...Now imagine a similar disaster in the Arctic, a place where pack ice makes sea travel all but impossible eight months out of the year for any craft other than the sturdiest icebreakers; where gale force winds can kick up waves as high as a three-story building; and where winters that begin in September with wind-chill factors that make temperatures feel like 10 degrees below zero.

Want to talk about capping a blowout under those conditions? Or cleaning up massive clots of frigid oil in seas where an iceberg can peel open the hull of a ship like a paring knife through a potato skin? Or how long it might take for coldwater habitat to recover from an oil spill?....

....The fossil-fuel industry wants us to believe we’re stuck with oil and all the damage, danger, and destruction it brings. That we have no choice but to accept that 30 years from now we might need Arctic oil — based on demand assumptions, which the International Energy Agency says would result in an average global temperature increase of at least six degrees Celsius — three times what science states the planet can sustain.

Well, we’re not stuck with oil. We can do better than assume climate failure.

We’ve already cut our oil consumption in this country 21 percent as a share of our real economic output over just the past decade. Imagine what we can do in the decades to come if we put our minds to building on that success....

Read article in full here~
http://ecowatch.com/2015/07/18/stop-shell-save-the-arctic/3/

We the People keep protesting, but $$$ keeps trumping people & planet.

We need to get $$$ out of Politics if we want sustainable life on earth.

(Xposted in E&E group forum)

[bananas]

1. k&r nt

[Dustlawyer]

2. Better yet, boycott Shell until they relent and any other company that thinks about going there.

[Fred Sanders]

3. Article in OP yesterday said the permit conditions are strong and Shell may stop the exploration??

A permit condition requires the presence of a standby emergency ship capable of capping a leak within 24 hours....the ship is in repair in Seattle.

Another condition, similar to a previous years condition, does not permit drilling beyond a certain sedimentary layer that will severely restrict the depth....and only two drills are allowed.

This article passed over much of that and just says "environmentalists consider the permit conditions weak".

Why skip over those conditions with a generic term?

No problem with the protesting, but please be honest about it. Give credit where credit is due.

Obama is a climate change warrior, you are getting mad at the wrong guy.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141154221

[Jakes Progress]

8. May be a warrior,

but not on out side of the war.

Those conditions are window dressing. No one knows what will stop a leak 8000 feet down in arctic conditions. They thought BP had it under control too. Now the Gulf is filled with two-headed, multi-tumored shrimp.

Why should they be given the right to make a profit by risking our future?

[Fred Sanders]

10. That was highly illogical and unfactual.

[RiverLover]

16. Great post.

Thanks, Jakes Progress.

[RiverLover]

13. Not a warrior, an enabler. Any drilling there, under any "conditions" is reckless.

“We’ve seen time and again, most recently just last week: when you drill, you spill. And when you spill in the Arctic Ocean, the consequences are all but irrevocable,” said Rachel Richardson, the director of Environment America’s Stop Drilling program. “The area is simply too fragile and too remote to ever fully recover from a catastrophic spill, and polar bears, beluga whales, and other wildlife unique to this precious area will pay the price.

http://ecowatch.com/2015/07/23/obama-grants-shell-arctic-drilling/2/

However, there is still hope it can be stopped~

“President Obama’s misguided decision to let Shell drill has lit the fuse on a disaster for our last pristine ocean and for our climate. Fortunately, Big Oil faces a long road before commercial production of Arctic Ocean oil begins. Any plan to combat climate change over the long term must reverse course in the Arctic now.”

http://ecowatch.com/2015/07/23/obama-grants-shell-arctic-drilling/2/

But in all, its just sad, from the same link~

“The President ignored his advisors when they said that any drilling in the Arctic carries a 75-percent risk of a ‘major’ oil spill; he ignored the people as hundreds of thousands of Americans continue to come together and call on Obama to say ‘Shell No’ to drilling in the Arctic Ocean; and he ignored common sense as Shell continues to commit one reckless mistake after another.”

[Fred Sanders]

22. A long and bumpy road is ahead for Big Oil, has Obama not made it clear he does not have a

bulldozer his disposal to cut a new road just yet, but he does have a backhoe with which to make a long and bumpy and unprofitable, road, so have a bit of patience and let the guy we all know is on our side keep doing his best?

From your snippet from an article:

“President Obama’s misguided decision to let Shell drill has lit the fuse on a disaster for our last pristine ocean and for our climate. Fortunately, Big Oil faces a long road before commercial production of Arctic Ocean oil begins. Any plan to combat climate change over the long term must reverse course in the Arctic now.”

[bvar22]

36. A Stand By ship capable of "capping all leaks" does not exist.

The MOST any "Stand-By Ship" could have done in the BP Gulf disaster would be to remove the crew.
This is pure BS.

I spent many of my early years as a specialist Directional Drilling & Well Bore Survey in the oilfield.
I KNOW how it works.
This "Stand-By ship is nothing but political Window Dressing.

From shallow Blow Outs to deep water blowouts (like BP) to pipeline leaks,
there is NO "One Ship" solution to all of these,
and there was no "One Ship" magic solution to the BP disaster,
or they WOULD have used it.

Emergency ships for the BP disaster were On-Site within 24 hours (some within 4 hours) at the BP disaster.
Do you have ANY idea how long it would take for these ships to reach the Arctic?

Obama's decision to Open the Arctic for exploitation by the Oil Corporations is reckless,
and irresponsible for someone claiming to be "concerned" about pollution and Climate Change.

Wasn't Drill, Baby, Drill the campaign slogan for the Republicans in 2008?
Looks like we got a Drill, Baby, Drill President anyway.

Did we ever have a choice?
Will we have a choice in 2016?
...only if we can get Bernie elected.

[rhett o rick]

40. Your rationalizations are sad for our environment. BP had great restrictions BUT NO ONE

enforced the laws. Do I have to spell it out for you. YOU CAN NOT TRUST CORPORATIONS. Do you remember the EXxon Valdez?

"Give credit where credit is due. " Are you serious? Obama should tell them no drilling. Then I would give him credit. But telling them to be good, is bull crap. If you care about the Aritic then forbid all drilling That's easy.

"Obama is a climate change warrior, you are getting mad at the wrong guy." Prove it. I say he is a corporatist warrior.

[MynameisBlarney]

4. What in the actual fuck?

What the hell was he thinking?

This is a huge disaster just waiting to happen.

*edit*

After checking the link on Fred Sanders post, it's not so bad, IF Shell complies with said conditions.

[RiverLover]

18. Baloney.

If he wanted to make it so difficult, wouldn't just banning it have done the trick?

That was within his power, and he abdicated.

[roguevalley]

20. I wish I could tell you how bad an idea this.

Damn, obama. Last straw for me.

[Skittles]

25. LOL

riiiiiiiight

[Romulox]

5. Obama delivers for his "base" (again!!!!) nt

[Divernan]

6. Shell restricted from drilling into any oil-bearing rock layers - for now

The restriction remains in place until the damaged ice breaker, Fennica, reaches Oregon, is repaired, and returns to the Arctic drilling sites. The Fennica carries the capping stack - an absolutely critical and required safety device in the event of a break at the ocean bottom, as happened with BP in the Gulf. Without this equipment ready to be deployed, Shell cannot drill.

So why, you may ask, did the Fennica suffer a gash in its hull when it had left Dutch Harbor and was headed to the drilling site, forcing it to head to Oregon for repair, and delaying govt. approval to drill into oil-bearing rock layers? As reported 2 days ago by station KUCB in Unalaska, that's because the world's largest oil company, Shell relied on depth charts based on EIGHTY YEAR OLD surveys done w/sextants & hand-held lines! That's as opposed to modern, electronic surveys. Good grief! Hand-held lines and sextants! 80 years ago! What could possibly go wrong?

http://kucb.org/news/article/asdf/

Shell’s Damaged Icebreaker Fennica Heads to Oregon for Repairs
By John Ryan
Monday, July 20 2015

The Fennica was sailing between Hog Island and the Dutch Harbor airport on Amaknak Island. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration charts show that channel being shallower than the waters around the other side of Hog Island, where Shell kept its oil rigs while they were in Dutch Harbor.

The channel the Fennica sailed, under guidance of a harbor pilot, was even shallower than the area’s 80-year-old charts showed.

My source in Unalaska pointed out to me that Shell is required to cease operations between September 24 & 29, because that's when the really rough weather starts. One only wonders what other SHELL fubars await between now and then.

Charts still in use in the Aleutians and Arctic Alaska are based on surveys conducted in 1935 with sextants and hand-held lines to plumb the depths.

After the incident, the NOAA ship Fairweather, already in the area on a mission to better map Arctic shipping routes, did a modern, electronic survey and found rocky areas less than 30 feet deep, including one just 22.5 feet deep. The Fennica sits 27.5 feet deep in the water.

Turning to today's news, here are excerpts from an article by the same reporter in Unalaska/Dutch Harbor/station KUCB

http://kucb.org/news/article/interior-dept-oks-arctic-drillingwith-limits/
Interior Dept. OKs Arctic Drilling—With Limits
By John Ryan
Wednesday, July 22 2015

(The damaged Fennica icebreaker, shortly before leaving Dutch Harbor for Oregon. KUCB/John Ryan photo.)

The Obama administration approved Shell’s Oil’s plan for drilling in the Arctic Ocean Wednesday. But for now at least, Shell is restricted on how deep it can drill. With a key piece of Shell’s oil-spill equipment currently heading away from the Arctic, the Interior Department told the company it cannot drill into any oil-bearing rock layers.

Shell’s “capping stack” is on board an icebreaker, the Fennica, that apparently hit an uncharted rock and tore a three-foot hole in its hull in Dutch Harbor on July 3. The Fennica is now about halfway through its weeklong journey from Dutch Harbor, 1000 miles south of the drilling site, to a shipyard in Portland, Oregon, for repairs.

“Fennica’s going the opposite direction,” Brian Salerno, head of the Interior Department’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, said. “Until such time as the Fennica makes hull repairs and then is able to return to Arctic with the capping stack, the restriction will remain in place.”

The federal permits also prevent Shell from drilling its two planned wells, which are about 9 miles away from each other some 70 miles off the northwest Alaskan coast, at once. That rule aims to protect walruses in the area from drilling noise.

[RiverLover]

19. Good info. Thanks.

But Obama has left the door open for future drilling, bottomline. He should have shut the door.

[bvar22]

38. "Shell’s “capping stack” is on board an icebreaker....

..."the Fennica, that apparently hit an uncharted rock and tore a three-foot hole in its hull in Dutch Harbor on July 3."


Man, THAT is some reliable Stand-By Ship.
What happens if it hits a rock in the still uncharted Arctic?

BTW: There is NO single "Stand-By ship' that can immediately stop all leaks (bad info posted above).
And it is not so easy to set another Blow Out Stack after a blow out...or they would have done that in the BP Gulf disaster.

Believe me. I've been there several times in Real Life.
The "Stand-By Ship" is nothing but political Window Dressing.

[bvar22]

61. Nobody knows where the "oil bearing rock layers are.

That is WHY these wells are called "exploratory".
Even in one of the most explored areas in the World,
exploratory wells are STILL "surprised" by shallow pockets of high pressure gas.

More Window Dressing.
If nobody has ever drilled there,
there is no absolute way of knowing which geological structure holds retrievable oil or gas.
The geologists are only able to offer a good guess before the actual drilling.
There are NO Magic X-Rays that lest ANYONE see whether there is oil or gas under the ground.
That is WHY we still have "dry holes" today.

[jalan48]

7. I think Obama just put the car in reverse.

What was that again about carbon in the air? Oh, no problem, free trade will fix it.

[Fred Sanders]

11. Not very impressive argument ya got there.

[jalan48]

23. Climate change warrior? Really?

Although I imagine he will be getting some big speaker fees in the future from the oil industry, a la the Clintons.

[NanceGreggs]

28. What utter nonsense.

I have a good chuckle every time I see someone talk about how Obama is feathering his nest in terms of future speaking fees.

Do you honestly think the first black American president - known to be a dynamic speaker able to draw huge crowds - is going to be wanting for paid speaking engagements when he leaves office? Do you really think he will be bereft of offers from all over the country, not to mention internationally?

Jesus Hussein Christ.

[jalan48]

31. How else to explain a 'climate warrior' allowing drilling in the pristine Arctic?

You have to admit the oil companies do have a bit of coin-hard to believe they are spending some of it to get what they want.
Jesus Hussein-I love it!

[NanceGreggs]

32. How are they spending it to get what they want?

Are you suggesting that Obama is accepting bribes? Are you suggesting that an under-the-table deal has been struck whereby Obama is guaranteed high-paying speaking fees after he leaves office?

If so, can you provide the evidence thereof?

TIA!

[jalan48]

33. Why do you think a climate warrior would allow drilling in that area?

Bribes is a bit strong-incentives maybe?

[NanceGreggs]

35. G'head.

If you've got the proof, post it.

[bvar22]

39. Wasn't "Drill, Baby, Drill" a campaign slogan for the Republicans in 2008?

We voted for Obama, and got a Drill, Baby, Drill president anyway.

So the American People never had a choice, did we?
Obama's legacy is going to be tarnished by several of his actions,
but THIS one WILL come back to haunt him. There WILL be spills.
This is a reckless decision that puts one of the last pristine areas left on the Globe At-Risk .

I am intimately familiar and experienced with the drilling process.
There WILL be spills.
The mythological "Stand By Ship" that can immediately stop ALL leaks or Blowouts doesn't NOT exist,
or they would have used it in the BP disaster.
Its existence is pure BullShit Window Dressing that some people are willing to swallow
because........Obama!

[jalan48]

43. Exactly. He's a lame duck President, there is no need for him to do this. Why is the question?

[jalan48]

42. LOL

[NanceGreggs]

44. Just the kind of hard-hitting evidence ...

... I was expecting.

[jalan48]

45. Maybe you can give me your theory on why he did this.

As the other poster said, the Republican's are the 'drill baby drill party". If not for some type of payback why else?

[NanceGreggs]

46. You state that Obama ...

... is somehow on-the-take and, when asked for evidence thereof, you respond with LOL! - and you think I want to engage in a serious discussion with you?

Now it's my turn: LOL !!!!!

[jalan48]

47. True Believer I see.

[NanceGreggs]

48. Just someone who can't be bothered ...

... to waste their time engaging in discussion with people who accuse the POTUS of bribe-taking but haven't a modicum of proof to back it up - other than saying "LOL!"

[TheKentuckian]

50. Who gives a damn what the rationale is and what does being black have to do with anything?

The President's race is not a cure all for dangerous policy.

[Thespian2]

12. Perhaps

Obama never heard of the Guardian UK campaign to Keep It In The Ground...

What the earth does not need is the extraction of more fossil fuels...the planet is screwed if governments and corporations burn just the fossil fuel already out of the ground...

[NorthCarolina]

14. His financial benefactors cashing in their chit's during his final time in office.

Fast track, artic drilling=payback for financial favors. It should be no secret anymore that this is how US Government works.

[Fred Sanders]

49. Nonsense. Not a shred of evidence or logic being used for an "argument" can makes one appear rather silly and shrill.

The internet called. It is tired of all the silly and shrill.

[frankieallen]

15. presidents cant always do what the base would like, cut him some slack

[RiverLover]

17. ha! Well that's one lesson Obama has taught us over & over & over

& over.

[roguevalley]

21. no. he won't get any from me

[MisterP]

24. alright then, what are the consequences if he doesn't push this? what DIRE NEED is he filling?

[ladjf]

56. Personally, I have already "cut him" lots of slack.

Why , at this point in his Presidency, would he make such a dangerous and unnecessary move?

We'll never know.

[Blue_In_AK]

26. Lived through one oil spill,

Don't want another one. Shell has had nothing but problems from the get-go with this. They should just give it up.

It wouldn't hurt my feelings any if all the oil companies left Alaska alone. Yes, it would be hard on our economy, but we'd soon figure out who REALLY loves this state enough to stick it out through the tough times.

[Maedhros]

27. Betrayal? What are you talking about?

Obama totally made good on his promises to the Oil Industry.

Ingrates.

[chenildieu]

29. Heartbreaking to f up a pristine place

But I am so sick of the status quo that I am starting to entertain dark thoughts. For example:

- Let's tap the Arctic and every other oil deposit and drive huge SUVs day and night - to speed the day when it all runs dry and we go back to horse and buggy travel (or wind and solar) and we give our battered earth a break

-- let's tap the Arctic and pump fast and hard and sell to whole world - so the Saudis (among the most revolting governments in the world, with a huge petrodollar reach into mosques and schools the world over) go bankrupt and are deposed by atheist tree-hugging egalitarians.

-- let's tap the Arctic and destroy it in a way that causes a ripple effect that hastens the destruction of our species. Won't all our cities look nicer when the jungle creeps back in?

[MFrohike]

30. Drill baby drill

That sounds familiar for some reason.

[nationalize the fed]

37. "My policies are republican from the '80s"- Barack Obama

People must be walking around in some kind of trance if they're surprised by this.

This is a man who made Fracking the centerpiece of US Energy policy.

While Japan builds Solar Islands and Germany builds Hydrogen stations that run on renewable energy.

[MoonRiver]

51. "Reagan is my hero."

I heard that but apparently few others did.

[ladjf]

55. That statement disappointed me greatly.

Didn't he even understand the damage Reagan caused America? At best it was a naive statement indicating that he hadn't studied
American history.

[MoonRiver]

57. I really don't understand where he was coming from.

Makes no sense. But Dems were so enamoured of him it had no effect whatsoever.

[ladjf]

59. In my opinion, many of the initiatives he has supported were more Republican

than Democrat. He has done some beneficial things but he has "sucked up" to the big business interests far too often. I have no
idea why, especially at this late date in his term.

[LondonReign2]

52. Bingo. We can't call it betrayal, he is a 1980s Republican

[ladjf]

53. The President is back to his old Republican tricks again. Too bad.

I had hoped that he would serve out the remainder of his term as a good Democrat who would protect the environment.

[cantbeserious]

54. Hope And Change - A Perpetual Betrayal

eom

[WDIM]

58. Shell oil is a criminal organization

They should have their assets seized and operations shut down. They are corporate terrorist causing death and destruction everywhere they go. Shame on you Obama.

[fadedrose]

60. Oh No

Didn't read the whole post because it's sad and upsetting.

With global warming already melting ice up there, too much wild life is at risk from that, and now drilling...

Oh, no, is the only comment I have.