Victory: Shell Cancels Plans to Drill in Arctic Waters
Score one for the environment - at least temporarily. Shell Oil announced that it will not be drilling off the Alaskan coast in the Beaufort Sea in 2009 as planned. This decision comes after a November court ruling which determined that Shell had erroneously been given permission to drill without properly assessing the environmental impact drilling would have on the fragile region.
The Arctic, already vulnerable and suffering from the effects of Global Warming, has been spared this blow by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals following a formal objection by Pacific Environment. The organization, along with a coalition of conservation groups, formally challenged the granting of Shell’s permit with an aim towards blocking the oil giant from drilling in this fragile ecosystem.
