Dear
Victory for the Polar Bear Seas! |
Today we received some exciting news about America's Arctic: Shell will not be able to drill in the Polar Bear Seas this year. Because you added your voice to the millions who spoke out against Arctic drilling this year, we wanted to make sure you knew about this.
There are a lot of reasons Shell wasn't able to drill this year, but the big culprit is Shell's own lack of preparedness. From not meeting its Clean Air permits to a damaged oil spill containment dome, Shell showed that it just couldn't drill safely.1 But we know that your passionate advocacy for the Arctic played a huge part in making sure Shell didn't get a free pass.
Over a million of you wrote to President Obama. Thousands called the White House. Last month, as Shell scrambled at the last minute, almost 60,000 of you emailed President Obama and EPA administator Lisa Jackson. You flooded the White House with calls and Administrator Jackson's Facebook page with thousands and thousands of comments.
Other oil companies have taken notice, too. Statoil, a Norwegian company that had planned to try to drill in the Polar Bear Seas, has now pushed its plans back to 2015 at the earliest.2 They'll be watching what happens with Shell, so we need to keep the pressure on.
Over the last six months, we've fought for the Arctic together -- and this time we won. But we need to keep fighting to protect the Arctic. Time and time again, we've seen that oil drilling results in spills that harm wildlife, poison our water, and ruin treasured landscapes.
Thank you for your support,
Sincerely,
Dan Ritzman
Sierra Club Arctic Campaign Director
P.S. Forward this this email to your friends, family and colleagues -- or share it on Facebook and Twitter:
[1] "Shell abandons Alaska offshore drilling efforts until next year." Los Angeles Times, September 17th, 2012.
[2] "Oil company delays exploration in Arctic waters off Alaska." Anchorage Daily News, September 7th, 2012.