Arctic drilling is destructive and risky The Arctic is a fragile and unique ecosystem, home to more than four million people as well as great numbers of birds, fish, walruses, seals, whales and polar bears. This wildlife — as well as the livelihood of the Indigenous Peoples of the Arctic — is greatly endangered by the rapidly vanishing sea ice. The summer of 2012 saw alarmingly powerful sea ice melt that was 18 percent higher than the previous recorded summer melt in 2007.1 Over the last 30 years, 75 percent of the Arctic sea ice (by volume) has disappeared. The loss of sea ice speeds up global warming, as open water absorbs more heat and sunlight where sea ice previously reflected it back up into the atmosphere. Conducting Arctic oil drilling not only places additional pressure on the
already fragile Arctic environment, it is also extremely risky. Statistically, there is a one-in-five chance of a major spill occurring over the lifetime of drilling activity within just one block of leases in the Arctic Ocean.2 Even the oil industry admits there is no way to prevent a Deepwater Horizon-style blowout in the Arctic, and that cleaning up a spill in these treacherous conditions would be virtually impossible. A major Arctic oil spill would be absolutely devastating to the people and wildlife of the region — far more serious than in warmer seas such as the Gulf of Mexico.3