Hundreds of demonstrators in neoprene wetsuits and life jackets took to the water off Seattle, Washington, in kayaks, canoes, on paddleboards and in other vessels to send a message that Royal Dutch Shell PLC should cancel its plan to drill in the Arctic Ocean.
The “Shell No” protest was held just blocks from where Shell’s Polar Pioneer drilling rig is docked.
Once out on the water, kayakers gathered in formation and hoisted signs and banners that read: “Climate Justice,” “Oil-Free Future” and “We can’t burn all the oil on the planet and still live on it.”
Photo: Reuters
Many had posters or scarves featuring the Shell logo above crossed kayak paddles, resembling the skull-and-crossbones image.
GREENPEACE
Greenpeace USA executive director Annie Leonard said there is a long list of reasons why drilling in the arctic is a bad idea.
The focus should be on renewable energy in this time of climate change, not dirty fuels, she added.
“Why would we invest in an energy source that scientists say is leading us to catastrophe?” Leonard said.
Many feared that an oil spill in such a delicate and remote region would be a disaster.
Scuba diver Greg Huyler stood on the sidewalk and shook his head in opposition to the event.
“It is a bunch of crap. The problem is all of these kayaks are petroleum products — and they are going to gripe about drilling for oil? And 90 percent of them drove here in cars that use petroleum products,” he said.
SIERRA CLUB
Alli Harvey, Alaska representative for the Sierra Club’s Our Wild America campaign, said: “Science is as clear as day when it comes to drilling in the arctic: The only safe place for these dirty fuels is in the ground.”
At the center of the paddle protest was the People’s Platform, a 372m2 barge powered by renewable energy, the Sierra Club’s Jonathon Berman said.
The platform was used as a stage for speakers, a band and a tall screen that showed images of people expressing their opposition to Shell’s plans.
The Polar Pioneer is the first of two oil drilling rigs that Royal Dutch Shell plans to use this summer as it explores for oil off Alaska’s northern coast.
The second, the Noble Discoverer, is set join the Polar Pioneer at the Port of Seattle at a later date.
The arctic region holds about 30 percent of the world’s undiscovered natural gas and 13 percent of its oil, Shell’s Web site said.
“This amounts to [about] 400 billion barrels of oil equivalent, 10 times the total oil and gas produced in the North Sea to date. Developing Arctic resources could be essential to securing energy supplies for the future, but it will mean balancing economic, environmental and social challenges,” the Web site says.
Activists see it differently.
Protesters say it is critical that they take a stand “against dirty fossil fuel projects.” They want to put themselves on the front lines in the battle for arctic oil.
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