Hillary Clinton, the likely Democratic Party candidate in next year’s US general election, has tweeted her opposition to offshore oil drilling in the Arctic because of risks to the environment and habitats there.
Clinton’s tweet came after the US Interior Department’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) gave the go-ahead for Shell to drill into the oil zone of its Burger Prospect in the Chukchi Sea offshore Alaska.
Her tweet read: “The Arctic is a unique treasure. Given what we know, it’s not worth the risk of drilling.”
Incumbent US pesident Barack Obama has come in for attack from both sides of the fossil fuels debate. Pro drillers accuse his administration of footdragging, especially on the issue of approving the Keystone XL Pipeline, and approving liquefied natural gas terminals to capitalise on exporting that resource.
Anti-drillers are unhappy at the administration for entertaining possible offshore exploration in the Atlantic Ocean and now giving the final seal of approval to Shell’s Arctic campaign.
In previous statements Clinton had hinted at her opposition to Arctic drilling but this tweet is her most forthright stance yet on the issue.
