(Los Angeles Times) One of the last significant hurdles to offshore oil drilling in the Arctic has been cleared with approval of a plan for dealing with a nightmare scenario — an oil spill at the top of the world. The Obama administration on Friday approved Shell Gulf of Mexico Inc.'s plan for responding to an accident should it occur in the Chukchi Sea.

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(New York Times) In an important step toward ultimate approval of new oil drilling off the North Slope of Alaska, the Interior Department on Friday tentatively approved Shell’s plans for responding to a potential spill in the frigid Arctic waters. Shell still needs to cross several additional regulatory barriers before it will be permitted to begin drilling as many as six exploratory wells in the Chukchi Sea starting in July. But the green light from the Interior Department on its oil spill response plan is a clear sign that the Obama administration is disposed to allow the drilling when it believes adequate safeguards are in place.

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In 2010, the Pew Environment Group commissioned Oil Spill Prevention and Response in the U.S. Arctic Ocean, a comprehensive study of the challenges and potential consequences of oil and gas exploration and production in the U.S. Arctic Ocean. The study examined what might happen if a catastrophic spill occurred in the Arctic.

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The Beaufort and Chukchi seas off northern Alaska make up America’s portion of the Arctic Ocean, a spectacular and unique marine ecosystem in the United States. Bowhead whales, walrus, ice seals, polar bears, and millions of migratory birds thrive here. While these Arctic marine mammals are uniquely adapted to living on and around sea ice, their world is changing rapidly. 

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(Nature) “The race is on for positions in the new oil provinces.” That starting-gun quote was fired last week by Tim Dodson, executive vice-president of the Norwegian oil and gas company Statoil.

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More than 500 distinguished scientists signed a letter urging the Obama administration to use science to guide decision making on oil and gas activities in the remote and fragile U.S. Arctic Ocean.

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(Greenwire) A group of 573 scientists today released a letter to President Obama asking him to stop oil drilling in Alaska's Arctic waters until experts can study the proposed oil development's impacts on sensitive Arctic ecosystems and native subsistence activities.

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(Mother Jones) Pew Environment is running some aggressive new ads targeting the Obama administration's decision to allow drilling in the Arctic to proceed.

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