Thursday, March 07, 2013

Shell suspends drilling in Alaska's arctic because they don't want any mistakes. What?

 
 
 Ahh! costly being the watchword, It would be no big deal if it did not cost them money. They could in fact care less about the environmental damage.
 
*Wait a minute, they haven't even started yet and look at the list of accidents and mistakes: The company's two drill ships -- the Noble Discoverer which is not theirs but they rent and the Kulluk suffered serious accidents as they were leaving drilling sites in the seas last fall and winter and are being towed to Asia for repairs. That is said to take 2 drilling seasons.
 
*The Noble Discoverer while on its way from Seward Alaska had an engine fire. Remember, they rent this ship so know nothing about its upkeep or condition.
 
*My Representative Edward Markey Dem. from Massachusetts revealed the Coast Guard discovered 16 violations with the Noble Discoverer, including air-pollution concerns and a propulsion system that "does not result in sufficient speed while at sea to safely maneuver in all expected conditions without towing assistance." Remember they rent this and know nothing about its condition!
 
*Remember last July when the Noble Discoverer dragged its anchor and nearly ran aground on an uninhabited island in the Alutions? We never were told if the dragging anchor was due to man made error or mechanical problems. Plus 4 months later after being towed to port it was further damaged by an explosion and a fire.
 
*The Kulluk owned by Shell but leased to another company also ran aground on an uninhabbited Island during a storm. As a result it was eventually freed but suffered hull and electrical damage.
 
* They have also suffered weather delays and their equipment designed to contain a spill failed. I refuse to believe that knowing all this and more the Department of the Interior and Obama is still allowing them and Exxon to drill there. You know we are being lied to and only being told about the issues they can not hide.
 
*I am further stupefied that the Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski from Alaska can turn this demonstrated fiasco into a positive saying it shows Shell is as concerned about safety standards as she is. What?
 
I bet she can see Russia from her house too! We better stop this right now before it even starts. We can not even drill on land without having an accident let alone in the Arctic sea under some of the worse conditions on earth.
 
Do you trust Shell? Me neither. And the Obama administration shouldn't either.

Tell the Obama administration that we can't afford to just trust Shell.

Thank you for everything you do for our environment,

Dan Ritzman
Sierra Club Arctic Campaign Director

P.S. Forward this this email to your friends, family and colleagues -- or share it on Facebook and Twitter: 
 
James Joiner
Gardner, Ma

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