Fwd: Indredible! How can they be so stupid? ANS Bullitin

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>Subject: Fwd: Indredible! How can they be so stupid? ANS Bullitin
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>Hi -- Joyce sent this to me. It's from the AP wire I believe. They
>are now going to drill for oil in the Arctic. They ignored what is
>going on in the Gulf.
>I've heard that if they don't contain this BP spill, it will kill
>all life on Earth eventually. Maybe they just want to make enough
>money to buy their way into heaven before we all die....
>--Kim
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>>ANCHORAGE AP, Alaska - A federal appeals court Thursday removed a
>>legal challenge standing in the way of Shell Oil's plans to drill
>>wells off Alaska's shore this summer.
>>
>>A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
>>rejected a case that challenged federal approval of Shell's
>>exploratory drilling plans in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas.
>>
>>The expedited ruling followed oral arguments last week in Portland, Ore.
>>
>>The court determined that the federal Minerals Management Service
>>met its obligations to consider the potential threat to wildlife
>>and the risk for disaster before it approved Shell's Arctic Ocean project.
>>
>>Shell Oil, a unit of Royal Dutch Shell PLC, hopes to drill three
>>exploratory wells in the Chukchi and two in the Beaufort this
>>summer with a 514-foot drilling ship, the Frontier Discoverer.
>>
>>Chris Krenz, Arctic project manager for Oceana, one of the
>>plaintiffs, said the decision was disappointing in light of the
>>ongoing BP crude oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
>>
>>"Oil companies have tapped the easy oil off of our coasts," he
>>said. "They are now pushing the limits and increasing the risk by
>>heading to the deep water of the gulf and the remote and unforgiving Arctic."
>>
>>He said BP was not ready to deal with an oil spill tragedy in the
>>gulf, and "Shell will have far fewer resources to contain and
>>address an accident in the Arctic."
>>
>>Pete Slaiby, Shell Alaska vice president, said the decision again
>>demonstrates that Shell has submitted robust, safe plans for
>>exploration in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas. He said Shell faces
>>several other hurdles before it can drill.
>>
>>"In light of the recent spill in the Gulf of Mexico, we are working
>>hard to identify additional measures that could be incorporated
>>into the program to make it even stronger," he said in an e-mail.
>>"That said, this decision is a very large step in the right direction for us."
>>
>>The case merged three lawsuits brought by environmentalists and
>>Native Alaskan groups challenging the Minerals Management Service's
>>environmental review of Shell's exploratory drilling plan.
>>
>>The concerns included drilling's effect on endangered bowhead
>>whales, such as a possible interruption of feeding patterns, and
>>whether Shell had made adequate plans to deal with an emergency,
>>such as a major spill.
>>
>>Kathleen Sullivan, an attorney for Shell, argued last week that the
>>company had spent at least $3.5 billion on Alaska operations and
>>had waited years to recover its investment.
>>
>>Shell's Chukchi exploration plan concluded that a large oil spill,
>>such as a release from a blowout, would be rare. MMS agreed and
>>said the probability of a large spill during exploration was "insignificant."
>>
>>Chief Judge Alex Kozinski and Circuit Judges Carlos Bea and Sandra
>>Segal Ikuta said in a two-paragraph decision that they had
>>carefully reviewed thousands of pages of record. They concluded
>>that in both exploration plans, MMS had met its obligations under
>>the National Environmental Policy Act and the Outer Continental
>>Shelf Lands Act.
>>
>>Krenz said the court did not have the BP incident in front of it
>>for consideration.
>>
>>"The decision is somewhat out of context with that the reality is," he said.