Slam Shell 2013 - Giant Oil Spill

SLAM SHELL!

RESPONSIBILITY IS SOMETHING ELSE

On December 11th, 2013, Shell opened the doors to the Science Slam, hoping to present young scientists` ideas about renewable energies and bolster their public image of corporate responsibility. They definitely did not expect this.

WHAT`S SO BAD ABOUT SHELL?

They consciously create socio-ecological damage and show no real commitment to changing this. They work hard to make it look like they care about the impact of their endless quest for oil, distracting the public with showy PR events like the Science Slam. This is called Greenwashing. It is the opposite of responsibility. Taking actual responsibility would be Shell cleaning up its mess and taking action to prevent further damage. Taking responsibility would mean not fulfilling plans to drill in the Arctic.

HOW DOES SHELL DO GREENWASHING?

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Every day in Nigeria, approximately 350,000 liters of oil are spilled, destroying the livelihood of much of the population. Shell pays off warlords and corrupt governments to continue drilling there. The corporation is the worldwide biggest producer of CO2 and other chemicals damaging the world`s climate. In Europe, it tries to divert attention from the harm it causes elsewhere, producing campaigns like the "Eco Marathon". It props up the contemporary myth that technology will solve our global problems. It is about time this company started taking responsibility for its actions.

This action is by Peng! Collective. If you want to see more actions ilke this, donate to the group. They pull off creative and subversive pranks, causing trouble in politics and business.

Corporate responsibility is something else

Slam Shell! Activists hijack the oil giant's greenwashing event in Berlin. With an ingenious prank, a local group reminded Shell that their plan to drill in the Arctic is potentially disastrous for the environment. Holding 'Green' conferences and pretending to support renewable energies is not good enough.

These activists may not have the money Shell has. They may only have a 300 euro budget for what should be a 3 million dollar campaign, but they have a passion and they will not stand by and watch while companies like Shell continue to do what they want, at the expense of our environment.

If you want more videos like this one, more direct action, please visit the website www.SlamShell.com, inform yourself and donate to cover the costs of the stunts.

Made by Peng! Collective - www.peng-collective.net

with a little help of Leftvision - www.leftvision.de

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ORIGINAL: Slam Shell
Dec 12, 2013

Breakaway Oil Rig, Filled With Fuel, Runs Aground

ORIGINAL: NYTimes

By HENRY FOUNTAIN

Published: January 1, 2013

An enormous Shell Oil offshore drilling rig ran aground on an island in the Gulf of Alaska on Monday night after it broke free from tow ships in rough seas, officials said.

Petty Officer 1St Class Sara Francis/United States Coast Guard, via Associated Press

The Kulluk is one of two rigs that Shell has used to drill test wells off the North Slope of Alaska as part of the company’s ambitious and expensive effort to open Arctic waters to oil production.

The rig, the Kulluk, which was used for test drilling in the Arctic last summer, is carrying about 139,000 gallons of diesel fuel and 12,000 gallons of lubricating oil and hydraulic fluid, the officials said.

A Coast Guard helicopter flew over the rig after the grounding at 8:48 p.m. and “detected no visible sheen,” said Darci Sinclair, a spokeswoman for a unified command of officials from Shell, Alaskan state agencies and other groups that has been directing the response since the troubles with the rig began last Thursday.

Ms. Sinclair said that more overflights were planned after daybreak on Tuesday, and that the unified command would be monitoring the fuel situation as it planned further actions. “The focus will be around salvage,” she said.

The 266-foot diameter rig ran aground on the east coast of Sitkalidak Island, an uninhabited island that is separated by the Sitkalidak Strait from the far larger Kodiak Island to the west. The nearest town, Old Harbor, is across the strait on Kodiak Island; it has a population of about 200 people.

Ms. Sinclair said the coast where the Kulluk ran aground has a combination of rocky and sandy terrain.

Earlier Monday, a Shell spokesman had said that the rig had been brought under control after towlines were reconnected to two ships during a break in what had been several days of extremely rough seas and high winds.

But late Monday afternoon the line from one of the ships, the Aiviq, became separated. Then several hours later, the other ship, the Alert, was ordered to disconnect its towline, out of concern for the safety of the ship’s nine-person crew. At the time, Ms. Sinclair said, swells were as high as 35 feet and winds were gusting up to 65 miles an hour.

The Kulluk, one of two rigs that Shell used to drill test wells off the North Slope of Alaska as part of the company’s ambitious and expensive effort to open Arctic waters to oil production, was being towed by the Aiviq to a Seattle shipyard for off-season maintenance when the towline initially separated during a storm on Thursday.

The Aiviq then lost power, and other support ships and a Coast Guard cutter were brought in to help with engine repairs and to reconnect towlines to the Kulluk, which does not have its own propulsion system. The 18 workers aboard the rig were evacuated by Coast Guard helicopters on Saturday.

Over the weekend, support crews struggled in 25-foot swells to reconnect towlines, succeeding several times. But each time the lines separated again, leaving the rig in danger of drifting toward land.

The Kulluk, which was built in Japan in 1983 and upgraded over the past six years at a cost of $292 million, is designed for icy conditions in the Arctic. It can drill in up to 400 feet of water and up to 20,000 feet deep. During drilling season it carries a crew of about 140 people, Mr. Smith said.

Shell has spent six years and more than $4 billion in its effort to drill in Arctic waters, one of the last untapped oil-producing regions in the United States. But the effort has faced regulatory hurdles and opposition from American Indian and environmental groups.

Last summer, the Kulluk drilled a shallow test well in the Beaufort Sea while another rig drilled a similar hole in the Chukchi Sea to the west.

But Shell announced in September that it would be forced to delay further drilling until this year after a specialized piece of equipment designed to contain oil from a spill was damaged in a testing accident.

The episode was one of a number of setbacks for the Arctic drilling program last year.

Shell now says it hopes to drill five exploratory wells in the region during the 2013 drilling season, which begins in mid-July.

La petrolera Shell anunció el abandono de sus planes de perforación en los mares de Chukchi y Beaufort por el resto de este año.

ORIGINAL: Greenpeace Colombia

Hoy te traigo excelentes noticias: La petrolera Shell anunció el abandono de sus planes de perforación en los mares de Chukchi y Beaufort por el resto de este año.

Durante los últimos meses la empresa estuvo bajo la lupa de millones de personas en el mundo entero. Sólo en Colombia se unieron al movimiento polar más de 140.000 personas como tú, convirtiéndose en uno de los países con más alta participación. Y no pasó un día sin que los directivos de Shell supieran de alguien protestando contra sus planes de explotación petrolera en el Ártico.

Por eso, cuando días atrás una de sus plataformas resultó dañada por hielos polares, y eso se hizo público, no tuvieron más remedio que cancelar sus operaciones durante este año.

El Ártico necesita que lo protejamos de forma permanente. Haz hoy tu donación para que continuemos trabajando por la protección de esta frágil región del planeta. Haz click aquí.

Éste es el desenlace de un proceso que empezó meses atrás con una protesta en su barco petrolero en Nueva Zelanda y continuó con un gigantesco movimiento mundial contra sus peligrosos planes.

Esto significa que el Ártico recibirá un pequeño respiro de los desmanes de la industria petrolera por este año. Sin embargo aún hay mucho por hacer.

Shell intentará volver a Alaska – y junto a tí- haremos todo lo posible para detenerlos. Ya hay 1.800.000 personas en el movimiento para salvar el Ártico, pero para ponerlo a salvo definitivamente debemos ser muchos más.

Gracias por ser parte de este movimiento. Ayúdanos a crecer haciendo hoy tu donación a Greenpeace. Haz click aquí.

Un abrazo,

Hernán.

Shell Halts Arctic Drilling Right After It Began

ORIGINAL: NYTimes Green Blog

By JOHN M. BRODER

WASHINGTON — A day after it began drilling its first well in the Arctic Ocean, Shell has been forced to temporarily abandon the work because of sea ice moving into the area.

The delay was the latest setback for Shell, which has invested six years and more than $4 billion

Has invested six years and more than $4 billion to win the right to drill for oil and natural gas in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas off the North Slope of Alaska.

The company has been repeatedly stymied by equipment problems, regulatory hurdles, persistent sea ice and legal challenges from Alaska Natives and environmental groups. Shell had hoped to complete as many as four wells in the Arctic this summer. It now expects to begin one or two wells and finish next year.

Early Sunday, Shell’s Noble Discoverer drill ship sank a bit into the Burger Prospect, about 70 miles off the Alaska coast, the start of a 1,400-foot pilot hole that will form the basis for a mile-deep exploration well.

But late Monday, Shell announced it was pulling the floating drill rig’s multiple anchors and moving it off the well because of encroaching sea ice. The company said it had based its decision on satellite images, radar and on-site reconnaissance.

“We began monitoring this ice when it was more than 100 miles away,” Shell said. “The wind began to shift, and we made the call to disconnect from the well. Part of working in ice is having the ability to temporarily relocate.”

Shell said it expected to move the rig back over the well once the ice passed.

The company is still awaiting federal certification of its spill containment vessel before its wells can penetrate oil-bearing formations. The spill response barge is undergoing trials and inspections in Bellingham, Wash., and could win Coast Guard certification this week.

Even if regulators give the ship final approval, it will take two weeks to sail to the well site, leaving little time to finish the well.

Under terms of its drilling permit, Shell must cease drilling in the Chukchi Sea by Sept. 24 to allow time to drill a relief well if needed before ice sets in for the winter. Shell has asked for an extension because its projections show a later ice season this year.

A Homeless Polar Bear in London - Ft. Jude Law and Radiohead

ORIGINAL: Save The Arctic

http://www.savethearctic.org - Our leaders won't listen to her, but they'll listen to you. What do you have to say to those who want to destroy the Arctic? Tell us in a comment!

Greenpeace, Jude Law, Radiohead and hundreds of thousands of people around the world are coming together to demand we save the Arctic from oil drilling, industrial fishing ustiband militarization. Join us at http://www.savethearctic.org

Protests to continue against Shell Arctic drilling

ORIGINAL: FuelFix

by Jennifer A. Dlouhy in Alaska, Drilling, E&P, arctic

July 1, 2012

In this photo provided by Greenpeace, actress Lucy Lawless, left, joins activists in stopping a Shell-contracted drillship from departing the port of Taranaki, New Zealand, Friday, Feb. 24, 2012. Lawless, a native New Zealander, best known for her title role in "Xena: Warrior Princess," climbed the oil-drilling ship bound for the Arctic to try and stop it from leaving. (AP Photo/Greenpeace, Nigel Marple)

An aggressive legal strategy by Shell that aims to keep environmentalists from interfering with its drilling rigs has only emboldened activists who plan to protest and closely scrutinize the company’s Arctic drilling operations this summer.

Greenpeace activists have set sail in an ice-class ship, the Esperanza, and will be following Shell’s work from a distance, deploying submarines to check on marine life and using acoustic equipment to monitor how much sound is coming from the company’s oil drilling.

In May, anti-corporate pranksters The Yes Men staged an elaborate — and entirely fake — Arctic drilling celebration at Seattle’s Space Needle, complete with a derrick-shaped drink dispenser that spewed dark oil-like liquid all over a guest. A video of the hoax on YouTube steered millions of viewers to a fake Shell website 

and “Let’s Go! Arctic” advertisements, including one that portrays climate change and melting Arctic ice as “an opportunity” instead of an environmental crisis.

Environmental activists say they are finding new ways to shine a spotlight on Shell’s Arctic drilling plans, following the company’s successful pursuit of a federal injunction that bars protesters from encroaching on Shell’s drilling rigs or support ships in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas north of Alaska. Violations would mean hefty fines and potential jail time.

Greenpeace activists, including actress Lucy Lawless, were arrested in February after they boarded the Discoverer drillship as it sailed from New Zealand to Seattle.

In response, Shell convinced a federal district judge to issue an injunction barring Greenpeace from interfering with Shell’s Arctic drilling operations.

“We know there is an injunction in place, but we will act according to what we think is in the best interests of the planet,” said Greenpeace’s senior oceans campaigner Jackie Dragon. “It does make things difficult, but it certainly isn’t something that is going to stop us. All they are doing is emboldening us to find better ways to get the word out.”

“Shell is really poised to open us up to a new rush of oil exploration, and there is so much at stake,” Dragon added. “The chapter is not nearly fully written yet on the different, creative ways that we will find to oppose this.”

Shell executives and Coast Guard officials say they are bracing for protests around Shell’s drilling.

Pete Slaiby, vice president of Shell Oil Co.’s Alaska venture, said that if a protester boards a drilling rig or support vessel, “it presents a hazard to the people who are doing it, the people who are working on the assets and the law enforcement folks who will have to do something about it.”

Greenpeace and other groups won’t say exactly what they have planned — only that they will do more this summer to highlight concerns about the Arctic drilling they say imperils the region, wildlife in the area and the native Alaskans who depend on it.

Greenpeace’s Dragon said the group wants to keep close watch on Shell’s activities in the remote Arctic waters.

Greenpeace pledges that the sound recordings and other data it collects in the Arctic will be sent to scientific researchers — with plans to swiftly release some of the information for the public online.

Shell vs. Greenpeace y los derechos de la población

ORIGINAL: GreenPeace Colombia

Si aún no lo has hecho, envíale un mensaje a Shell para que abandone su objetivo de perforar el Ártico en busca de petróleo. Haz click aquí

Noticia - 22 marzo, 2012

Internacional, 22 de marzo de 2012- El martes pasado el Director Ejecutivo de Greenpeace Estados Unidos, Phil Radford, escribió nota que fue publicada en el Huffington Post sobre la posición de la petrolera Shell con respecto a la oposición de Greenpeace y cientos de ciudadanos a sus planes de perforar el Ártico en busca de petróleo. Aquí la reproducimos y la compartimos con ustedes.

Shell pisotea los derechos de la población para continuar con las perforaciones peligrosas

"En el día de ayer, en un juzgado de Alaska, volvieron a encontrarse David y Goliath. El pequeño equipo de abogados defensores de Greenpeace Estados Unidos se enfrentó cara a cara con los representantes de Shell, la petrolera multinacional que presentó una de las más fuertes demandas de su historia contra un pacífico grupo de defensores ambientales.

La decisión del tribunal resonará mucho más allá del pequeño pueblo de Anchorage y ayudará a determinar el futuro del activismo en este país. Pero hagamos un repaso de lo sucedido hasta ahora. En un intento desesperado por proteger sus reservas, Shell está apostando a la realización de nuevas perforaciones en el Ártico.

Sus ejecutivos echaron a correr dulces afirmaciones sobre la “independencia energética”, como si un nuevo golpe maestro de la industria del oro negro fuera suficiente para bajar los precios del gas, solucionar el problema financiero y llevarnos nuevamente a los dorados noventas.

En vez de ver la fusión de hielo y mar como lo que realmente es -una alarmante señal que afectaría al clima de todo el continente- esta empresa, cada vez más desesperada, pretende efectuar nuevas perforaciones en busca de combustible fósil. Olviden la lejanía, las tormentas, las especies, inclusive el pequeño grupo de barcos que tratarán de resolver el problema en caso de un derrame.

En lugar de eso, cierren los ojos, respiren profundo, y piensen lo que significa que una empresa del siglo XXI elija poner sus mejores ingenieros a trabajar en un proyecto diseñado para dañar el clima. Mientras las tormentas castigan nuestras costas y las plagas azotan a nuestros granjeros, Shell insiste en su posición e ignora la energía limpia como si fuera una moda pasajera.

Como habrán adivinado, Greenpeace está totalmente en contra de este circo. Nuestros seguidores alrededor del mundo han enviado cerca de 250 mil e-mails a los ejecutivos de Shell señalando la terrible ironía de su postura. La actriz Lucy Lawless apoyó a Greenpeace Nueva Zelanda en su acción para evitar que buques perforadores zarparan del puerto para emprender el largo viaje a Alaska. Y allí fue cuando Shell decidió tomar las armas.

Nuestras oficinas en Alaska, San Francisco, y Washington D.C., recibieron copias de la demanda simultáneamente. Luego de revisarlas, nuestros abogados no podían creer el alcance de esos documentos: Shell basaba su demanda contra Greenpeace Estados Unidos en una acción que había tenido lugar a casi 10 mil kilómetros de ese país y que había sido conducida por Greenpeace Nueva Zelanda. 

La empresa pretendía una orden de restricción a cualquier acción de Greenpeace que “agraviara o interfiriera con cualquier propiedad de Shell”, en cualquier lugar de los Estados Unidos a pesar de que existan miles de leyes contra la interferencia, la violación u otros tipos de molestias.

Lo que Shell quería era una extraordinaria arma legal que pudiera ser usada contra cualquiera de los 500 mil suscriptores vía e-mail que prefirieran actuar un poco más categóricamente de lo que la compañía hubiera deseado. Los jueces rechazaron casi todos los puntos de esta demanda y, en su lugar, ordenaron una orden de restricción temporaria que abarca únicamente a las plataformas de perforación y a los buques de soporte.

Pero hoy en día la empresa vuelve a la corte, reclamando una orden judicial que la proteja tanto de una abuela octogenaria de Idaho como de estudiantes que luchen por su futuro junto a Greenpeace. Una señal del enorme poder que estas empresas tienen en este mundo moderno es que la palabra “protesta” sea vista como una mala palabra. Hoy, cualquier desafío al modelo económico imperante es inmediatamente condenado como antipatriótico. Sólo para recordar: una economía ineficiente liderada por la industria petrolera no es parte de la Constitución, ni está en el Himno Nacional.

Una minoría usó su poder para crear la ilusión de que hay sólo una manera de engrandecer a los Estados Unidos y devolver al país a su lugar en el mundo. De alguna manera, los combustibles fósiles se convirtieron en un pilar de la democracia en lugar de lo que realmente son: enemigos del estado. Pero algo está cambiando. Cuando las compañías como Shell apelan a caros y frívolos procesos para silenciar a los opositores a sus planes, la gente se entera.

Ellos pueden tener todo el dinero del mundo pero existen ahora cientos de personas que ven como una locura todo lo que hace esta empresa condenada al fracaso.

La perforación del Ártico es uno de los grandes errores de nuestra era y ya no debe permitirse. Sea lo que sea que pase en la corte, Greenpeace continuará oponiéndose pacífica y categóricamente a los planes de Shell porque nosotros, las personas, tenemos a la verdad de nuestro lado. Y eso es algo que ni siquiera una empresa petrolera billonaria no puede comprar". 

Philip Radford es el Director Ejecutivo de Greenpeace USA. Seguí a Philip Radford on Twitter:www.twitter.com/Phil_Radford