Don’t Give Away the Arctic Ocean to Oil And Gas Companies

Environment, Petitions — By Rachel Milani on January 19, 2012 6:41 am

Target: DOI Secretary Ken Salazar

Goal: Prevent the lease of new space in the Arctic Ocean to gas and oil companies.

The U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) has revealed new plans to lease even more of the U.S. Arctic Ocean for the purposes of finding new oil and gasoline sources. We need to stand up against this decision and tell Secretary Ken Salazar not to allow the lease of new ocean space. The Arctic is an extreme, yet fragile environment and contains habitats for creatures of all sorts. The exploitation of this space for the purposes of fuel extraction will put these ecosystems at risk for destruction. There is much room for growth in terms of scientific exploration of the Arctic Ocean, which means that there is still a lot that scientists do not know. Too much in fact to make it alright for gas and oil companies to go in and exploit its resources. We must first be certain of the effects that gas and oil exploration will have on an area before moving forward with any expansion.

3.8 million acres of the U.S. Arctic Ocean are already leased out for the purposes of finding gas and oil. Let’s tell the DOI to first make sure that this space is already being utilized to its full potential instead of exposing more of our precious ocean to destructive exploration. Any exploration that is done at this time must be first conducted by science. The ‘biological hotspots’, areas of high biodiversity and a concentration of endangered animals, in this new region for lease must be first identified and then guaranteed protection. Additionally, tactics and regulations for cleaning up oil spills need to be improved upon. Secretary of the DOI Ken Salazar has been an environmentalist throughout his career and needs to be made aware that this latest decision is too detrimental to the environment to stand.

PETITION LETTER

Dear Secretary Ken Salazar,

The Department of Interior’s decision to lease more U.S. Arctic Ocean space must be reversed. As an environmentalist yourself, it should be clear why the exploration and exploitation by gas and oil companies will be potentially detrimental. Science has not yet thoroughly explored these regions and therefore cannot ensure that biological hotspots are protected or that oil spills will be cleaned as efficiently as possible. History tells us that these events do occur. In addition to these reasons, please recognize that 3.8 million acres are already being leased, why do we need to increase that number?

Leasing more of the U.S. Arctic Ocean has the capacity to destroy fragile habitats and endangered species. It is unnecessary, especially in these times of environmental hardship. Please reverse the DOI’s decision to lease more of the Arctic Ocean to companies who will exploit its resources in the search of profits.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]