Shell abandons plans to drill in the Arctic!

I woke up early and turned the radio on to the Today programme.  Sleepy, I was vaguely aware of the business section, more interested in bankers bonuses, then a single sentence: "Royal Dutch Shell have announced they will not be drilling for oil off the Alaskan coast this year".  I was awake and listening intently but that was it.  One sentence.  But it was a tremendous result for all the campaigning we as Greenpeace activists here in Nottingham and around the world have been doing.  Facebook is full of it.  There are articles in the Guardian, Reuters, the Indie, the FT, the Wall Street Journal.  All cite the reason as being safety issues, specifically mechanical failure.  A quote from their website says "this is a long term project that we are pursuing in a safe and measured way".  Note the word safe. Tney have finally woken up to the fact that drilling for oil is inherently risky.  Perhaps the fact that BP are currently on trial in the US for the Deepwater Horizon accident three years ago affected their decision.  And perhaps they realise that the answer lies in renewables after having abandonned any attempt to push their business in that direction 4 years ago.  Whatever made them change their mind for this year is to be welcomed but don't forget they haven't said never and there are other companies out there willing to exploit Arctic oil reserves and some of them will be less vulnerable to public opinion.  So, take a deep breath, raise a glass to yourselves for all the work you have done opposing Shell but get ready because the fight to save the Arctic continues.