by Steve Selden | Sep 28, 2015 | Conservation
Shell Oil exploratory oil rig in transit to Chukchi Sea in the Arctic. King-TV Seattle photo.
Royal Dutch Shell Oil will halt oil drilling in the Arctic after an initial exploratory well in the Chukchi Sea produced weak results.
The Burger J well was drilled 6,800 feet in a basin that had company officials thinking they were on top of a significant reserve. Even though some indications of oil and gas there wasn’t enough to continue investing in the site amid the contentious regulatory resistance of the area. Shell will seal the well and abandon the site.
“Shell continues to see important exploration potential in the basin, and the area is likely to ultimately be of strategic importance to Alaska and the U.S.,” Marvin Odum, president of Shell USA, said in a statement. “However, this is a clearly disappointing exploration outcome for this part of the basin.”
The failure to find oil is a major setback for Shell. The company was hoping that this new arena of exploration would yield long reaching profits. Environmentalists have a more relieved feeling.
“That’s incredible,” said Margaret Williams of the World Wildlife Fund in Anchorage. “All along the conservation community has been pointing to the challenging and unpredictable environmental conditions. We always thought the risk was tremendously great.”
An activist looks towards the rising sun as she hangs from the St. Johns bridge as part of a protest to block the Royal Dutch Shell PLC icebreaker Fennica from leaving for Alaska in Portland, Ore., Thursday, July 30, 2015. The icebreaker, which is a vital part of Shell’s exploration and spill-response plan off Alaska’s northwest coast, stopped short of the hanging blockade, turned around and sailed back to a dock at the Port of Portland. (AP Photo/Don Ryan) ORDR106 (Don Ryan / The Associated Press)
Shell has invested billions to get to this point in the Chukchi Sea and still have interest in further exploration. The oil company had the support of Alaska officials and business leaders have endorsed Shell for oil exploration in the area to bolster the trans-Alaska pipeline, which is now functioning at about one-quarter capacity.
Highlighting many of environmentalist’s concerns of Arctic exploration, one of Shell’s drilling vessels had some safety issues working in the Arctic. The ship broke away from its towline in the Gulf of Alaska and ran aground near Kodiak Island. A $12.2 million fine was paid by sub-contractor owners of the Noble Discoverer, after pleading guilty to eight felony maritime safety counts.
by Steve Selden | Sep 23, 2015 | Conservation
Arctic Global “doomsday” vault opened. Washington post photo.
Deep beyond the rim of the Arctic Circle on a Norwegian archipelago the Svalbard Global Seed Vault stands rimmed in hoar frost and surrounded by permafrost. The vault, which holds roughly 860,000 and 4,000 plant species seeds from nearly every country on Earth, is a safeguard against climate change and major planet transformations. Even if Earth lost electrical power, the seeds stored within the vault could survive two centuries minimum.
The fact the vault needed to be opened by The International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (or ICARDA) is concerning. Is global warming affecting how our reserve seed inventory is managed? The center relocated from Syria to Beirut in 2012 due to conflict in the region. They now have requested 130 boxes of the originally stored 325 boxes of seeds stored in the vault. ICARDA needed these samples as part of its ongoing role of growing seeds and distributing them throughout the world to various nations.
ICARDA’s mission partly focuses on researching and cultivating plants that are able to adapt to shifting climate patterns most importantly in dry areas of Africa, Australia and the Middle East. Over 40 per cent of the Earth’s surface is classified under dry regions and 2.5 billion people reside in these areas. The Syrian conflict interrupted the center’s critical and important work.
Many of the world’s first grains and cereals are believed to have derived from the Levant in Syria widely considered a cradle of civilization now besieged by intense conflict and mass exodus.
by Steve Selden | Sep 8, 2015 | Conservation
Biologists from the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U. S. Geological Survey teamed with Local residents from Kaktovik, a remote island in the Beaufort Sea, to rescue a polar bear ensnared in a lost fishing net. The 1,000 pound male polar bear was spotted in the sea struggling due to the netting wrapped around his body. Biologists flew close to the bear and shot him with a tranquilizer dart. Local fishermen, nearby in their boats, rushed in to buoy the bear to prevent him from drowning while sedated.
A polar bear that was trapped in a fishing net rests on shore after being freed. U S geological Survey photo.
Biologists worked feverishly to untangle the bear and he was released back into the wild after they deemed him injury free.
USGS asserts that climate change continues to affect polar bear habitats and they have established a Polar Bear Recovery Team to protect them. While individual rescues such as this aide in saving small numbers of polar bears, each one, especially females, can be crucial to the populations overall strength. close contact with sedated bears can also reveal scientific information to help evaluate the species.
Polar bear resting after sedation and removal of fishing net. U. S. geological Survey photo.
by Steve Selden | Sep 2, 2015 | Conservation
Concept design of northern Arctic housing. Fournier, Gesrovitz, Moss, Drolet and Assoc. Architects image.
Traditional high Arctic home building designs have been similar in structure and layout to those found in the south. However, as with the tiny house movement in the lower lattitudes, architects in Quebec are rethinking the design process for buildings that will be constructed above the 60th parallel. These new highly efficient structures will be more aptly suited for the climate and lifestyle of Inuit residents of the region. The Societe D’habitation du Quebec the chief housing authority for the province is working on new designs for the Arctic.
Since 2012 the agency has been working on the design in collaboration with a Montreal architectural firm as well as regional housing bureau agencies which have provided key input related to design needs and cultural traditions of Cree and Inuit inhabitants, especially relating to interior layout.
Initially, two prototypes will be constructed this year in Quaqtaq on the Diana Bay shore along the Hudson Strait. It is unclear how the inhabitants of these first two homes will be selected or what they will be required to pay for the units.
Quuaqtak in Nunavik, Northern Quebec is site of prototype design of housing unit. Google maps image..
The structural design will be highly energy efficient with walls, roof and floor insulated above standard levels as well as a heat exchange heating system generated from the water heater. Steel piles will anchor the homes in the Precambrian shield and adjust for melting of permafrost in many areas.
Pilings being driven into housing location in Nunuvik, Quebec. Societe d’habitation du Quebec photo.
Storage for the unit will be maximized with innovative spacial concepts for the attic, laundry room and kitchen that provides a movable large island for additional space. Securely locked storage cabinets will be built in for hunting firearm and ammunition. Both a cold and warm porch will be features that specifically cater to the traditional Inuit lifestyle. In all this new design will be highly efficient and desired by Inuit families.
by Steve Selden | Aug 29, 2015 | Conservation
Fortunately the “last ice” region we are discussing is being used in a manner of symbolism. The area of interest is above Canada’s High Arctic Islands and northwest Greenland. National Geographic Society and World Wildlife Fund-Canada are on a mission to protect the Arctic.
Since the late 1970s when satellite monitoring was instituted, Arctic summer sea ice extent has been shrinking at a rate of about 12 per cent per decade, according to both organizations in an August news release.
Polar bear on sea ice in the high Arctic. Natural Habitat Photo.
The two organizations have teamed up to increase attention and awareness of — the “Last Ice Area” — the region climate scientists project summer sea ice to last the longest.
Recognizing the ‘Last Ice Area’ and the need to protect it for ice-dependent species and northern communities has been a top priority of our Arctic work for several years,” said WWF-Canada President and CEO David Miller. “We couldn’t have asked for a better partner to help steer the public eye northward to this important region.”
The National Geographic Pristine Seas project will include partner WWF-Canada to bring attention to the threats facing the summer sea ice and document “how the Inuit culture is connected to the area and its extraordinary wildlife.”
The “last ice area” near Greenland. Jane George photo.
“Highlighting the ‘Last Ice Area’ and the need to protect it for ice-dependent species and northern communities has been a top priority of our Arctic work for several years,” said WWF-Canada President and CEO David Miller. “We couldn’t have asked for a better partner to help steer the public eye northward to this important region.”
The Pristine Seas project by National Geographic will partner with WWF-Canada to spread awareness of the threats of shrinking summer sea ice areas. The connection between the inuit culture of the north and the extraordinary wildlife will be the primary focus.
“We came close to Arctic wildlife and filmed them like never before while also documenting the last traditional hunting by the Inuit,” said National Geographic’s Enric Sala about a recent trip to northern Baffin Island.
by Steve Selden | Aug 8, 2015 | Conservation
Shell Oil recently was approved for exploration and drilling in the Arctic Chukchi Sea amid fervent protest and controversy. Highly scrutinized and condemned, this operation has high risks associated with the process. Regardless, Shell and government regulators have failed to date to furnish any safety protocol or reliability projections to the public sector.
An Greenpeace activist hangs from the St. Johns bridge as part of a protest to block the Royal Dutch – Shell icebreaker Fennica from leaving for Alaska in Portland, Ore., Thursday, July 30, 2015. The icebreaker is a vital part of Shell’s exploration and spill-response plan off Alaska’s northwest coast. (Don Ryan/AP Photo)
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) has subsequently filed suit against federal offshore drilling regulators to produce the documents reviewed by third parties outlining strategy for safety protocol and drilling plans. The crux of the documents disclose spill containment systems tests and oil response drills.
“[Shell and its regulators] still will not release their certifications where we can be clear that they have done their compliance, that they have done their job,” said Rick Steiner, a marine conservationist and former University of Alaska professor. “Shell says everything is fine but they won’t show it.”
Shell was required to test its spill containment system again this time around, but it remains unclear how well it performed. Steiner told Truthout that the public deserves answers to these “technical risk-management questions” before Shell begins drilling in “high-risk hydrocarbon zones.”
“We want to see the records, we want to see exactly what they did to function test this and exactly how it performed,” Steiner said.
A blockcade in Portland aimed at stopping an icebreaker bound for the Chuckchi was halted by police last Friday, ending a efforts by grassroots activists and environmentalists to deter Arctic drilling before it starts.
The Royal Dutch Shell PLC icebreaker Fennica heads up the Willamette River under protesters hanging from the St. Johns Bridge on its’ way to Alaska in Portland, Ore., Thursday, July 30, 2015. Don Ryan/AP photo.
Shell is positioning ships and starting to drill but next week marks the high risk period when drilling is expected to enter zones of highly concentrated gas and oil reserves deep below the sea floor.
After PEER filed a request for records under the Freedom of Information Act with with the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), a federal regulation agency for offshore drilling. Records requested were emergency response plans, reviews of field tests and any whistleblower provisions allowing contractors and Shell workers to report hazards without fearing retaliation.
After initial delay of several weeks BSEE told PEER it would take an additional 12 weeks to gather the records, a time period that would follow after drilling would be completed for the season in October. Arctic winter sets in at that time inhibiting any drilling in the sea. The filed suit is requesting the records to be produced in a more timely manner under federal law.
Steiner said BSEE’s “inability or unwillingness” to release the records before the drilling season is “inexcusable” because “BSEE should have most of this information at its fingertips.” He said that the type of information requested should already be posted to BSEE’s website.
“That is an absurdity that nobody can stand for … it is outrageous that we have to press to get this,” Steiner said.
Environmentalists argue drilling in treacherous Arctic conditions at best produces more fossil fuels, contributing to the to climate change and causing Arctic ice to melt throwing ecosystems out of balance. At worst a cataclysmic oil spill could damage extensive area in the Arctic and harm countless species and fragile environment.
