By Katarzyna Klimasinska – Sep 26, 2011 7:58 PM GMT+0100
President Barack Obamas administration should add to protection for Arctic wildlife as the U.S. moves to allow oil-drilling off the Alaska coast next year, a study commissioned by environmental groups said.
The government should make special efforts to avoid harm in the most sensitive habitats and gather comprehensive data about seals, walruses and bowhead whales of the Beaufort and Chukchi seas, where Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) has bought leases, and the research should be publicly accessible, according to a report released today by the Pew Environment Group and the Washington- based Ocean Conservancy.
The study was issued on the last day of public comments for an updated environmental study of Chukchi Sea oil leases. Shell, based in The Hague, spent $2.1 billion for leases in 2008 and hasnt yet drilled a well because environmental and native groups disputed the auction. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will decide whether to affirm or cancel the sale now that the new review is finished.
When it comes to the fragile Arctic, science, not politics, needs to guide decision-making, Marilyn Heiman, Pews U.S. Arctic director, said in a statement. Additional research is needed if we are to avoid irreparable harm to an ecosystem found nowhere else in U.S. waters.
Shells Beaufort Sea exploration plan won approval in August on the condition that the company also get permits from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service.
Spill Science Adviser
The companys Alaska plans are built on decades of scientific research, Shell spokeswoman Kelly op de Weegh said today in an e-mail. Its our view that there is enough science to support an exploration program.
Pew and the Ocean Conservancy hired Robert Spies, who was chief science adviser for Alaska and the U.S. on effects of the Exxon Valdez tanker accident in 1989, which dumped about 260,000 barrels of crude into Prince William Sound. For todays report, Spies led 14 Arctic researchers in reviewing science needs for decision-making on offshore drilling in the icy waters.
Shell expects Salazar to approve the Chukchi sale, according to Pete Slaiby, its vice president for Alaska. The company has said it includes mammal observers on each vessel engaged in its seismic studies and exploration. The company installed buoys that record animal sounds and help map their migrations, according to companys website.
According to op de Weegh, $500 million has been spent on Arctic data, including $50 million by Shell. She said more than 5,000 independent studies have been conducted.
Drilling Activity
The scientists didnt set a deadline for their proposals.
Ideally, we would like to see these recommendations in place before exploration drilling is approved, Heiman said in an e-mail. We are concerned that drilling activity could get out ahead of the needed science.
The Pew Environment Group is part of the Pew Charitable Trusts, a nonprofit organization based in Philadelphia and Washington.
We will review Pews recommendations, Interior Department spokesman Adam Fetcher said in an e-mail today. We continue to listen to affected communities and gather and assess the environmental, ecological and technical information that will inform our decisions on oil and gas development.
To contact the reporter on this story: Katarzyna Klimasinska in Washington at [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Larry Liebert at [email protected]
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
