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Ice-Breaking: U.S. Oil Drilling Starts as Nations Mull Changed Arctic
Shell begins Arctic drilling. While some focus on spill risk, summit leaders consider the wider environmental impact of opening a new industrial frontier.
(Related: "Arctic Sea Ice Hits Record Low-Extreme Weather to Come?")
On the same day, however, a high-powered group of politicians, oil industry executives, shipping magnates, and investors gathered to discuss how best to exploit their good fortune.
"I will be one of those persons most cheering for an endless summer in Alaska," Peter E. Slaiby, vice president of Shell* Alaska, told luminaries at the Arctic Imperative Summit at the Alyeska Resort in Girdwood, August 25-27. Slaiby's company has thus far spent $4.5 billion over the past seven years in a much-delayed effort to explore for oil and gas in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas in Arctic Alaska.
(Related: "Shell Scales Back 2012 Arctic Drilling Goals")
The wait ended at 4:30 a.m. Sunday,
