Sailing in kayaks, canoes and other small boats, the activists spread out on the city of Seattle's Elliott Bay, protesting plans by Royal Dutch Shell to resume oil exploration in the Arctic and to keep two of its drilling rigs stored in Seattle's port.
The demonstrators held signs and banners that read "Climate Justice" and "No Arctic Drilling."
- Royal Dutch Shell plans to explore for oil off the northern coast of the state of Alaska.
"This is our livelihood," he said. "We need to protect it for the crabbers, for the fishermen. We need to protect it for our children."
Annie Leonard, executive director of the environmental group Greenpeace USA, said drilling in the Arctic is a bad idea for multiple reasons. She said the focus should be on renewable energy, not dirty fuels.
"Why would we invest in an energy source that scientists say is leading us to catastrophe?" she said.
A scuba diver from Washington state, Greg Huyler, observed the event and voiced opposition to it.
"It's a bunch of [nothing]," he said. "The problem is, all these kayaks are petroleum products, and they're going to gripe about drilling for oil. And 90 percent of them drove here in cars that use petroleum products."
Saturday's protest came two days after the arrival of a towering oil rig that is the centerpiece of Shell's Arctic drilling fleet. The Polar Pioneer rig, 122 meters long and 91 meters tall (400 feet by 300 feet), is the first of two oil-drilling rigs Royal Dutch Shell plans to use in the coming months as it explores for oil off Alaska's northern coast.
The Arctic holds about 30 percent of the world's undiscovered natural gas and 13 percent of its oil, according to Shell's website.
voanews.com
16/5/15
--
-
Related:
Anti-Arctic drilling kayaktivists hold ‘Shell No’ protest...
ReplyDeleteHundreds of activists decked out in neoprene wetsuits and life jackets took to the waters of Elliott Bay yesterday (May 16) in kayaks, canoes, paddleboards and other vessels to send the message that Royal Dutch Shell should cancel its plan to drill in the Arctic Ocean.
The “Paddle in Seattle” — a daylong, family friendly festival in a West Seattle park and an on-the-water protest by “Shell No” kayaktivists — was held only blocks from where Shell’s Polar Pioneer drilling rig is docked at the Port of Seattle’s Terminal 5. The brightly coloured boats lined the grass as paddlers loaded gear while lights on the towering rig twinkled in the background...........AP............http://www.todayonline.com/world/americas/anti-arctic-drilling-kayaktivists-hold-shell-no-protest?singlepage=true