by George Pletnikoff Every day, Shell oil creeps closer to the
Alaskan Arctic. When Shell likely obtains final US governmental
approval sometime in the next month, they will send their two
rusty rigs into the Beaufort and Chuckchi Seas to drill
exploratory wells–and begin sucking the life out of one of the
last wild places on earth. There is no safe way to drill for
oil. Even with a supposedly state of the art rig built in 2001,
such as the Deepwater Horizon, spills are part of the business.
The Kulluk, Shell’s premier Arctic drilling vessel, was built in
1983, and to bring that thirty year old rig, one that must be
retrofitted before it can safely leave port, well, that alone
presents an unconscionable risk. That in addition to the
company’s track record cleaning up their messes in much less
rigorous environments makes it even more atrocious. The Alaskan
Arctic is home to animals like the polar bear, narwhal, Arctic
fox and other iconic species in grave danger because of global
warming. Instead of working to