Insights · September 28th, 2015
It was not really that hard to foresee the decision announced by Shell Oil today that they are abandoning their efforts to drill for oil in the Arctic, namely in the Chukchi Sea. You might recall the controversy here in Seattle about the basing of the Arctic fleet in Seattle, and also the protests that broke out in Portland when a Shell ship was repaired there. At the time that Seattle’s Port Authority was deciding to lease space to Shell for this effort to exploit the melting arctic, I testified against the lease at a Port hearing, and later appeared on a television talk show as a voice for why it was a bad idea to explore for oil in the arctic. You can see that interview here.
Now Shell has given up, due apparently to poor results, and to heavy expenses in the face of falling oil prices.
My position has been that the oil that is assumed to be in the Arctic should be left there. If at some time in the future humanity really needs that oil, it will still be there. Right now however, we do not need it for supply reasons (we have plenty of oil as evidenced by prices), and the climate crisis demands that we move now to alternatives, which are becoming cheaper than fossil fuels anyway. Leave the oil in the Arctic as a kind of civilization strategic reserve, and it will probably never have to be used.
