April 10, 2013
ConocoPhillips “has spent about $650 million” in pursuit of Arctic offshore oil drilling, but is now putting its plans on hold because of regulatory issues, so that “Shell basically will set the standard going forward.”

February 9, 2013
Dozens of demonstrators arrested in Montreal during disruption of Plan Nord job fair. Plan Nord is a project of the government of Quebec which intends to duplicate the economic development of the Albertan northern regions, with similarly little input from the Aboriginal population or citizen groups that fail to see “progress” as equating with “rampant environmental destruction.”

January 15, 2013
“A U.S. court in Alaska has overturned a federal rule aimed at protecting polar bear habitat in the Arctic, handing a victory to the oil and natural-gas industry.” Snarky commentary from Grist.org here –> “Polar bears may be cute, but the faces on dollar bills are a lot cuter.”

January 14, 2013
“According to the [Environmental Protection Agency], Shell’s self-reporting of emissions revealed both drilling vessels released excess nitrogen oxide, leading the EPA to conclude that Shell had “multiple permit violations for each ship” during the 2012 drilling.” Snarky commentary from Grist.org here –> “If Shell does manage to start extracting, it cannot be taxed on that oil because jobs.”

January 1, 2013
Shell oil drilling rig grounded in the Gulf of Alaska carrying 500,000 liters of diesel fuel. It was being towed from operations in the Beaufort Sea to Seattle for maintenance.

Tags:   accidents · alaska · arctic · oil industry · plan nord · pollution · quebec · spillsNo Comments