e360 digest

11 Nov 2010: Oil Companies Not Prepared
To Respond to Massive Arctic Spill

Harsh weather conditions, darkness, and shifting sea ice could delay efforts to respond to offshore oil disasters in the remote Arctic by six months or more, and likely result in oil being trapped in and under

As the Far North Melts,
Calls Grow for Arctic Treaty

The Gulf oil spill is a warning, conservationists say, of what could happen in the Arctic as melting sea ice opens the Arctic Ocean to drilling. Many experts argue that the time has come to adopt an Arctic Treaty, Ed Struzik writes.
READ THE e360 REPORT

the ice for years, according to a new report. The report by the Pew Environment Group, which comes as the oil industry pushes for the increasingly ice-free Arctic Ocean to be opened to drilling, warns that oil companies are unprepared to deal with an Arctic spill. A massive spill could severely harm populations of walrus, seal, and polar bears, and decimate the indigenous communities that rely on hunting. The report also notes that oil persists in cold Arctic waters far longer than in warmer waters, such as the Gulf of Mexico, site of the BP spill. The report recommends reforms that would close gaps in risk analysis, response planning, oversight, and scientific research. “The Gulf of Mexico catastrophe showed us the consequences of lax oversight and inadequate response capacity, even in temperate waters near population centers,” said Marilyn Heiman, director of Pew’s U.S. Arctic Program.

Recommend

Stumble Upon

Digg

Will Bold Steps Be Needed to Save Beleaguered Polar Bears?

An Obsessive Quest to Document Earth’s Disappearing Glaciers

As Arctic Melts, Inuit Face Tensions with Outside World

Arctic Tipping Point: A North Pole Without Ice

Melting Sea Ice Could Lead To Pressure on Arctic Fishery

Hopes Fade for Cleanup In Nigeria’s Oil-Rich Delta

Yale Environment 360 is
a publication of the
Yale School of Forestry
& Environmental Studies.

Twitter: YaleE360
e360 on Facebook
Donate to e360
View mobile site
Bookmark
Share e360
Email newsletter
Subscribe to our feed:

About e360
Contact
Submission Guidelines
Reprints

South African photojournalist Adam Welz documents the harrowing relocation of six white rhinos to a region that has lost all its rhinos to poaching. View the gallery.

Opinion
Reports
Analysis
Interviews
e360 Digest
Podcasts
Video Reports

Biodiversity
Business & Innovation
Climate
Energy
Forests
Oceans
Policy & Politics
Pollution & Health
Science & Technology
Sustainability
Urbanization
Water

Antarctica and the Arctic
Africa
Asia
Australia
Central & South America
Europe
Middle East
North America

A Yale Environment 360 video explores Ecuador’s threatened Yasuni Biosphere Reserve with scientists inventorying its stunning forests and wildlife. Watch the video.

The latest
from Yale
Environment 360 is now available for mobile devices at e360.yale.edu/mobile.

In a Yale Environment 360 video, photographer Pete McBride documents how increasing water demands have transformed the Colorado River, the lifeblood of the arid Southwest. Watch the video.

Top Image: aerial view of Iceland. © Google & TerraMetrics.

The Warriors of Qiugang, a Yale Environment 360 video that chronicles the story of a Chinese village’s fight against a polluting chemical plant, was nominated for a 2011 Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject). Watch the video.

Centre for Science and Environment

Environmental Health News

Environmental News Network