Obama Administration Revokes Drilling Leases

Now Let’s Protect the Gulf and the Atlantic

In a momentous reversal for the future of Alaskan offshore drilling, the Obama administration recently announced its cancellation of two oil lease sales and further denied lease extensions for oil exploration. The two cancelled sales involve the Chukchi Sea and the Beaufort Sea for 2016 and 2017, while the lease extension denials will ban Shell and Statoil from continuing oil exploration in the Arctic Ocean. This news, announced earlier this month, comes in tandem with oil giant Shell announcing that it will no longer be drilling offshore in Alaska’s Arctic Ocean.

Whereas just last year, the amount of Alaskan oil available for exploitation was predicted to quadruple, these announcements mark a decline in offshore drilling in Arctic waters and with it, the removal of a significant threat to Alaskan wildlife. Offshore drilling frequently leads to major oil spills, which harm countless numbers of marine animals, such as dolphins, whales, sea turtles, birds, and fishes. Harmful effects can include damage to reproductive systems, , internal organs, and overall long-term health and vision issues. Drilling and oil exploration perpetuates dependence on fossil fuels which also exacerbates climate change, a threat that affects all animal species, including humans.

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