Shell start the year as they mean to go on with more disaster in the Arctic region.
As if pre-empting the dangers inherent in Shell’s expansion into the Arctic, one of their oil rig was washed ashore at the start of this year.
The oil broke off from its chains with the ship carrying it out of Alaskan waters, due to the storm on New Years Eve. It is now washed ashore at Kodiak Island, home to those famous Kodiak Bears.
Fortunately, and totally down to luck and not management or judgement, the rig has not tipped over at this point. Shell were moving the rig to avoid paying tax.
The US Government have now ordered a full review of Shells’ plans due to this and a number of other mishaps since the summer. "The number one lesson is that it's not easy to do oil exploration and production in the Arctic”.
In the UK the all-party Environmental Audit Committee in the House of Commons has stated that a moratorium should be set for the area until “research shows spill responses will work in such extreme conditions; a pan-Arctic oil spill plan is put in place; stricter liability rules for firms are introduced; and an internationally-recognised wilderness protection zone is established”. – All points that are very similar to the Greenpeace campaign. Something seems to be working.
On Sunday the 20th January, this coming weekend, we will be asking more people to sign up to the Arctic Scroll, in Worcester High Street. Starting at 11am, we will be explaining the campaign and encouraging people to add their name to the scroll before it is dropped to the bottom of the Arctic Ocean bed, setting a testament to the demand for a Global Park in the area.
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