Oil Exploration Ramps Up In US Arctic 182
ananyo writes "A new round of exploratory oil drilling is due to begin in the Arctic this July. The oil giant Shell was granted permission some months ago by the U.S. government to drill two exploratory wells in the Beaufort Sea and three in the Chukchi Sea, both north of Alaska, this year — between 15 July and late September. The project is finally coming to fruition after years spent fighting legal challenges. It will be the first oil-exploration program to run in U.S. Arctic waters since 2000, and could mark the start of the first offshore commercial drilling in the American north, although it would take another decade to establish production wells."
Re:So long, Arabia (Score:4, Informative)
We buy most of our oil from Canada but oil is a global market, so this will only help drive down prices long term.
If you buy any oil, you can't really say you are not buying or contributing anything to "Arab" countries, even if you only buy it from one place due to oil's global nature.
Re:This is news? (Score:3, Informative)
Can't actually do that. Gas for a geographic area is usually supplied by the nearest refinery. Here in Denver all you can get is Conoco gas. I don't care where you go Shell, Wal Mart, Costco, Safeway, etc. you're getting Conoco gas. The only difference is the additives.
Hooray for free market competition!
Re:Good (Score:4, Informative)
Electric cars are not the answer. Better city planning, public transportation, and human-powered transportation are the answers.
Higher oil prices are the answer. They are the only external force that will cause Joe 6-Pack to care about better city planning, public transportation and the like.
What about those of us that do not live in a city? Everywhere I need to go is 20 minutes from where I live.
Re:Good (Score:3, Informative)
Not good great!
Living in Alaska gave me a different perspective. The oilpipeline is Alaska. What I mean by that is it funds natives(indians) to survive, pays for education, gives research money to conservation and global warming researching indirectorly by funding the U of Alaska system, brings in 20% of the population in Anchorage and so on.
By 2016 the oil pipeline will be done! The state and its people will be devestated. Any oil they find needs to quickly be pipped to the oil pipeline. The oil industry is not this evil thing up there and people depend on it. It has done amazing things with a great education system in the state and funding for many poor native Americans in rural areas who survive by hunting and fishing. With milk $7 a gallon the dividend fund can really help as every man,woman, and child is paid by it. ... just giving slashdotters another perspective.
The arctic in Alaska is not negatively effected at all by the drilling. It enables more of us to enjoy its wilderness by creating jobs for those who want to move even if they are not paid directly by the big oil companies.