Help Keep the Arctic Pristine — Say NO to Drilling by September 21!

Dear Secretary Salazar:

Thank you for providing extra time to comment on the former administration’s 2010 to 2015 draft proposed program for offshore oil and gas leasing. The environmental impacts of oil and gas development in the waters of the U. S. Arctic are not adequately assessed. I urge you to remove all lease sales in the Arctic Ocean and Bristol Bay from both the current and new five-year leasing programs and to take a science-based, precautionary approach. Until a comprehensive, science-based Arctic Ocean plan is developed, I urge you to impose a “timeout” from all oil and gas related activities in the Arctic Ocean.

America’s Arctic seas are home to vibrant communities that depend on a healthy ocean to support their subsistence way of life. These waters also provide vital habitat for iconic wildlife, and play a vital role in regulating the planet’s climate. Although scientists have a very limited understanding of Arctic marine ecosystems, they know that Arctic ecosystems are sensitive and vulnerable to disturbance.

Unfortunately, the Arctic is warming at twice the rate of the rest of the planet and seasonal sea ice is disappearing at a stunning rate. These changes are having immediate and negative impacts on Arctic people and ecosystems. Moreover, the Arctic will likely be one of the first regions substantially impacted by ocean acidification. Changes associated with warming and ocean acidification will almost certainly result in extinctions and fundamentally transform Arctic Ocean ecosystems.

In this context, it would be irresponsible to allow oil and gas activities to proceed in Arctic waters. At present, no technology exists to clean up an oil spill in broken ice conditions. Yet the Minerals Management Service predicts that activities authorized under the current leasing program will likely result in two large oil spills in Arctic waters. Such spills would have devastating effects on the Arctic ecosystem, people, and wildlife. In addition to the threats posed by catastrophic oil spills, oil and gas activities such as seismic testing, exploratory drilling, and vessel traffic introduce significant noise and pollution into the marine environment. These impacts can adversely affect marine animals—and the people who depend on them for subsistence.

The Obama administration has repeatedly pledged to use sound science when planning oil and gas development in our nation’s waters. I urge you to follow through on that pledge. The Department of the Interior should remove all lease sales in the Arctic Ocean and Bristol Bay from both the current and new five-year leasing program and should take a science-based, precautionary approach. The administration should develop a comprehensive, science-based Arctic Ocean plan that will guide choices about if, when, where, and how to allow oil and gas activities in Arctic waters. Until that comprehensive plan is in place, the administration should impose a timeout on leasing and other oil and gas related activities in the Arctic Ocean.