Also by tracy

We've just found out that the government gave Chevron permission to begin deepwater drilling in the waters west of Shetland late last night. This is the first deepwater oil drilling in UK waters since the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. We expect Chevron will begin drilling in the next few days.

In the last week our activists spent 50 hours in the water in front of Chevron's drill ship, 100 hours on their anchor chain, and over the last 24 hours 16,000 people sent emails to Climate and Energy Secretary Chris Huhne urging him not to grant Chevron the license. It's been a Herculean effort by all and we can't thank you enough for your support.

The government's decision to open up drilling in ever more difficult and dangerous places to reach is totally irresponsible move and shows clearly that they've not learned the lessons from the BP oil disaster. That's why we're preparing to take them to court.

The standoff with the Danish navy continues in the Arctic today. They're guarding Cairn Energy's oil drilling operations in the Davis Straits which the company revealed today has found gas.

The day has also revealed what a hazardous area this is for drilling and the crew of the Esperanza got to see why locals call the area iceberg alley.

The oil drilling rigs are accompanied by a number of tug boats that must rope and tug icebergs away from the rigs if they get too close. The fire ships were also using hoses against smaller icebergs today and limit the number of icebergs near the drilling sites.

This morning we've heard from Ben on board our ship Esperanza that they are currently anchored about 2km from the deepwater drilling rig Stena Don in the Davis Straits between Canada and Greenland. The crew left London 12 days ago to confront dangerous deepwater drilling in the Arctic and today they've been met by a Danish warship and warned that the ship will be raided and the captain arrested if the ship breaches the 500m security zone surrounding each of the rigs.

But it's a UK company that has come to one of the most remote and harsh environments on the planet in pursuit of the last drops of oil. Cairn Energy is currently drilling two wells off the west coast of Greenland and has plans for two more wells in the area before the end of the summer. And now they are being protected by the Danish equivalent of the navy Seals. The crew on the ship have told us they've seen three navy inflatable boats in the waters around the rig.

It was a very early start this morning. I'm not much of a morning person and the adrenaline was pumping, so I was a bit worried about driving through central London my nerves feeling fuzzy and frazzled. But as I motored through the quiet streets of London at 5am in silence behind the wheel of a Toyota Prius I started to feel better. Because I have to admit, I really like driving.

I grew up in North America and it wasn't summer without a good road trip. I have eco-guilt about it, but I love the freedom, covering huge distances, being able to stop anytime and anywhere and enjoy the view or a bit of local culture. But I don't own a car - I don't need one in the city, and I don't want one because of the resources they eat up and the climate impacts. Well, until now.