Who Will Speak for the Polar Bears?
Bill Meadows President, Wilderness Society
In August, Shell received conditional approval, pending several additional permits, to drill in Arctic waters just miles from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Shell’s plan imposes tremendous risks to the marine mammals, sea life, coastal wildlife and native communities who call the Arctic home.
Shell’s drilling plan in the Arctic is playing Russian roulette with some of our most precious wild lands and waters. The drilling must be stopped.
As you read this, Shell is readying an industrial armada to sail to Alaska’s Beaufort Sea for offshore drilling. Shell plans to start drilling next summer, just a short distance from the Arctic Refuge shoreline.
A major oil spill or blowout in the icy and stormy Beaufort, even in the summer, would make the BP Deepwater Horizon tragedy seem like a walk in the park by comparison. As a recent Shell spill in the North Sea demonstrated, frigid waters, high winds, and waves combine to make containment of any spills nearly impossible. Oil from a spill could be trapped by sea ice for months, which would spell catastrophe for seals, whales, walruses, polar bears, and other sea life. Native communities could see their subsistence livelihoods destroyed for a generation.
Shell’s game plan is simple. They have spent more than $17 million since 2010 on Washington lobbyists. That buys a lot of access in the corridors of power.
Our game plan is you. Please help us today with a generous donation.
The Wilderness Society represents more than 500,000 people in all 50 states. Our nation-wide team consists of recognized experts and skilled lobbyists. Every new member, every donated dollar, means our voice is that much louder, and that much more difficult to ignore.
We can stop this reckless and dangerous attack on Alaska’s fragile and bountiful ocean and coastline. We can protect our most iconic wild places for future generations. But only with your help, and the help of others who care enough to act.
Thank you again for all you do for the wild.
Sincerely,
Bill Meadows
President
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Shell’s plan to drill offshore near the Arctic Refuge is playing Russian roulette with the wildlife and the wild places we love. We can stop them. Make an emergency donation to The Wilderness Society today.
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