Federal Court Halts Drilling Activities in Chukchi Sea

Yesterday, a federal court ordered a huge win for polar bears, bowhead whales, eiders, and the Arctic sea ecosystem.  The court ordered all oil and gas activites halted under controversial Lease Sale 193 in Alaska's Chukchi Sea until further environmental review is conducted by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Regulation and Enforcement (formererly the Minerals Management Service).

The Minerals Management Service had approved oil and gas leases in the ecologically sensitive and ice-choked waters of the Chukchi Sea without adequate prior analysis.  It failed to gather baseline scientific information as well as failing to analyze the potential impacts of natural gas development from the sale.  As a result, a large coalition of environmental groups and Native Alaskans, including the Sierra Club, were represented by Earthjustice in a challenge to Lease Sale 193 filed in 2008.  Yesterday's decision affirms the need for proper and thorough environmental analysis.

The Chukchi Sea is an ecologically rich area, home to several endangered species, and is at the heart of the subsistence culture practice by native Inupiat communities.  This court reflects the inherent dangers of oil and gas drilling in the area and should be a message to Secretary Salazar that the lease should be cancelled altogether.  Our Arctic Seas are far too sensitive and important to risk selling off to a industry which has proven itself to be dirty and dangerous time and time again.  

House Committee Passes Bill to Reform Oil and Gas Industry

On July 15th, the House Natural Resources Committee reported out the Consolidated Land, Energy, and Aquatic Resources Act (CLEAR) of 2010.  The bill, introduced by Chairman Rahall (3rd-WV), would go a long way toward reforming how the oil and gas industry operates to ensure that a disaster of the magnitude of the BP Gulf spill never happens again.

That disaster is a daily reminder of just how dangerous our addiction to fossil fuels is - and how dirty the oil and gas industry remains.  Far from being the creator of good jobs that the industry portrays itself as, BP has now put thousands of people out of work and the economy of the entire Gulf region hangs in the balance.  Boat operators are out of work; commercial and recreational fishing is shut down in many places; hotels and restaurants stand empty.

 

The CLEAR Act has many provisions that would specifically address the Gulf spill and its origins.  To begin with it would codify the administration's decision to abolish the Minerals Management Service and create three separate agencies that would deal with leasing, revenue collection, and regulatory oversight and enforcement.  The bill also contains many important regulatory and financial reforms for the oil and gas industry both offshore and onshore, increased safety measures for offshore operations, improvements to the development process for wind and solar power on federal lands, and provisions to assist with Gulf restoration.  Additionally, the CLEAR Act includes provisions to help protect wildlife in a warming world and would fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a vital source of money for restoration projects.

The CLEAR Act still has many hurdles before it can go to the full House floor for a vote but it is a significant piece of legislation that has already come a long way.  The Sierra Club will continue fighting for the necessary reforms to a dirty and dangerous industry.

America's Great Outdoors Listening Sessions Draw Crowds

The Obama administration is rapidly moving forward with it's America's Great Outdoors initiative.  The initiative, which involves multiple federal agencies, is being created with the goal of shaping the future of land conservation in the 21st century.  Our country's public lands faces an increasing array of threats including climate change, habitat fragmentation, and a growing disconnect between Americans and the outdoors.  Over the course of the summer, agency representatives are travelling the country and hosting listening sessions where citizens and stakeholders sit at the same table and swap ideas about how to address these problems.

In the last month alone there have been sessions in such places as Seattle, Los Angeles, Denver, and Albuquerque.  The Sierra Club has been active in many of these sessions as our organizers have done fantastic work encouraging folks to attend the sessions, educating them about land conservation and climate change, drumming up media attention, and getting VIPs to weigh in on the topic.

 
Congressman Martin Heinrich (1st-NM) addressing a crowd at the Albuquerque session

These sessions have been drawing hundreds of people who want to engage and participate in a dialogue about their lands.  And the vast majority of those who turnout are pro-environment focused on solutions to pressing local and national problems.  Additionally, the initiative has a strong emphasis on reconnecting youth to the outdoors.  As such, many of these listening sessions have held simultaneous and parallel sessions solely for youth to participate in a similar way about relevant issues.  The Sierra Club's Building Bridges to the Outdoors program has been actively involved in organizing and turning out youth representatives to these sessions.

The listening session tour is expected to last through the summer.  The administration will then put together a final report and recommendations for Presdient Obama due on November 15.  During that same time, the Sierra Club will actively ensure that those recommendations accurately incorporate managing our public lands for climate change.

Make your own voice heard and get involved here.