#arctic seas

[proud-spaniard]

569x760 El Kapitänleutnant Heinz Bielfeld, oficial al mando del submarino U-703 en aguas árticas, II Guerra Mundial.

[rjzimmerman]

Center for Biological Diversity: Conservation and Alaska Native groups have a green light to hold President Trump accountable to the rule of law over his attempt to jettison a permanent ban on new offshore oil and gas drilling in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans.

I posted a story about this yesterday, but this press release from the Center for Biological Diversity gives us more comprehensive information about this lawsuit against trump and his minions to open up the oceans off Alaska and the Eastern Seaboard to drilling. A lot of heavyweight (i.e., loud, effective and well-funded) environmental organizations are behind this lawsuit.

Excerpt:

Conservation and Alaska Native groups have a green light to hold President Trump accountable to the rule of law over his attempt to jettison a permanent ban on new offshore oil and gas drilling in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans.

A federal district court in Alaska yesterday rebuffed efforts by the Trump administration and the oil industry to dismiss the case, rejecting arguments that public-interest advocates were barred from challenging the decision, which would dramatically ramp up oil spill risk and threaten wildlife and coastal communities.

The administration and the American Petroleum Institute had disputed the groups’ ability the bring the lawsuit on a host of grounds, including that Trump’s action should not be subjected to review by any court at all. But the court rejected those arguments across the board and is now set to determine whether Trump broke the law in trying to undo permanent protections established for the Arctic and Atlantic under President Obama.

The groups challenging President Trump’s decision are the League of Conservation Voters, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, Alaska Wilderness League, Defenders of Wildlife, Northern Alaska Environmental Center, REDOIL (Resisting Environmental Destruction on Indigenous Lands), Center for Biological Diversity, Greenpeace and The Wilderness Society. They are represented by attorneys at Earthjustice and the Natural Resources Defense Council.

[oupacademic]

Word of the Day: polynya

n. A stretch of open water surrounded by ice, especially in Arctic seas.

Image credit: Arctic Sea by unsplash. CC0 Public Domain via Pixabay. 

[newsdock]

Norway wants to let oil and gas companies drill in Arctic seas that were frozen as recently as the 1980s even though some climate experts say it is too early to trust global warming to keep the ice away. Russia is also showing new interest in the Arctic despite high costs in a region where governments are struggling to set safety rules after BP's 2010 blowout in the Gulf of Mexico, the worst offshore spill in U.S. history. Many companies, including ConocoPhillips and Idemitsu, are applauding a plan by Norway to open the South East Barents Sea - about 1,800 kms (1,100 miles) from the North Pole - to exploration as climate change thaws the Arctic. \"For Norway to continue to be a long-term reliable supplier of oil and gas it is important to explore for, and develop\" expected large resources in the Barents, deputy oil and energy minister Kåre Fostervold told Reuters. Source: Reuters

[thatenvironmentalblog]