Victories

Shell-Shocked in the Arctic

In Brief: An appeals court rules that Shell Offshore, Inc., must stay away from the Beaufort Sea at least through the winter of '07/08.

Oil and gas exploration can disupt the habitat of polar bears in the Beaufort Sea area.

Photo: FWS

Oil Under Ice

Shell Oil wants to poke four holes (to start with) in the floor of the Arctic Ocean just off the coast of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge looking for oil. Environmental organizations and some coastal Inupiat people oppose the plan.

Not So Fast

The organizations and Native Alaskans objected to the plan, pointing out that the area where Shell wants to explore and eventually erect oil rigs is smack-dab in the middle of bowhead whale habitat. Bowheads are protected under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Polar bears and other protected species would be put at risk as well.

A One-Two Punch

The organizations, with the help of Earthjustice, filed suit in federal court against the federal Minerals Management Service, which had issued permits for the drilling. In July 2007 the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily blocked the permit and in August reaffirmed that no drilling may take place until the court has a chance to weigh carefully all the arguments, which precludes drilling this year.

Updated: August 22, 2007