By Pierre Bertrand | December 22, 2011 2:07 AM GMT
Alaskan environmentalists are sounding the alarm bells this week, responding to two major oil industry victories in a state that has been a recurring flash point between environmental groups, legislators and the giants of petroleum exploration.
The latest news to stir the seas came Monday, when ConocoPhillips reported it will have access to the Alaskan National Petroleum Reserve. That followed Royal Dutch Shell’s announcement last Friday that its plan to drill for oil in the Chukchi Sea was conditionally approved by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.