After chasing news about Shell in the arctic for the past week I was amazed & elated to find out about Shell's decision over at Mother Jones.
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2015/09/shell-just-scrapped-its-arctic-drilling-plans-goodCan't think of better news for the day !!
Shell has been leading the ravenous pack regarding drilling in the American Arctic. With them pulling the plug it will be some time before others take up the challenge. Our challenge is to keep the pressure on & try to discourage any other company that seeks to take their place at the trough.
Alaska, it seems, is going to have to learn to live without sucking their environment dry. My understanding is that the Alaskan pipeline will not survive for too much longer without major new crude supplies.
Alaskans have been lead to believe that without oil their future is about as robust as Appalachia's. As I see it the future of the region is in ecotourism, if you can't sell the natural beauty of boreal forests, (receding) glaciers and wildlife you need to find a job in a factory. I hope that those of us that can afford tourism to the area will avail ourselves of some northern sightseeing in the near future. It would be nice if Alaska finds that they can not only exist without oil, but that they can flourish as one of the few real wilderness areas left in the US.
I haven't been to Alaska for decades but I'll plan a trip now & another for the month after pipeline is permanently mothballed.
Terry