US activists protest against Royal Dutch Shell's drilling plans
Hundreds of environmental activists have once again staged protests at the port of Seattle against Royal Dutch Shell's oil exploration plans in the Arctic Ocean this summer.
Protesters tried to block entrances to a seaport terminal in Seattle for hours on Monday, while holding signs that read "Shell No" and "Seattle Loves the Arctic."
They seek to prevent the company from resuming oil exploration in the Arctic and keeping two of its drilling rigs stored in the city's port.
Shell aims to explore and drill in the Chukchi Sea in the US state of Alaska. It will use Seattle as a base to store its drilling equipment.
Last week, the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management conditionally allowed Shell to resume exploration in the Arctic, which was suspended in 2012. Certain Alaska lawmakers welcomed the decision, saying it would bring money to the state and create jobs.
However, protesters expressed their concern about the risk of an oil spill in remote Arctic waters, warning against the detrimental effects that taping new frontiers of oil and gas reserves will have on global warming.
They argue that drilling in the icy Arctic region, where weather tends to change rapidly, could result in an oil spill that would virtually be impossible to clean up.
They also believe that drilling would further jeopardize the Arctic’s vast layer of sea ice, which plays a key role in regulating the global temperature, and is already in danger of disappearing due to global warming.
"I'm joining in solidarity with the environmental community," a Seattle City Council member, Kshama Sawant, said. "Any drilling of oil in the Arctic represents grave danger to all humanity."
Police said no one was arrested and the demonstration remained peaceful on Monday.
On Saturday, activists in Kayaks and other vessels turned out for another protest.
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