Last February, Indigenous and environmental allies and I sat at a table in London with international policy makers. We had a proposal between us to protect communities and wildlife in the Bering Strait and Sea from increased ship traffic. At that moment, years of advocacy and community organizing hung by a thread. In a surprise … Read more
Chances are that the clothes you’re wearing, the device you’re reading this on, and much of what you have in your home has spent some time on a ship. In fact, more than 80% of all goods traded globally are carried by ship. Product components are bouncing back and forth across oceans as they are … Read more
In Utqiaġvik, Alaska, the northernmost community in the United States, last winter’s temperatures were so warm that algorithms in weather monitoring stations were flagging them as false. Biologist Craig George says “the term is no longer ‘climate change’ in Utqiaġvik, it’s ‘climate changed.’” With Alaska and the rest of the Arctic warming twice as fast … Read more
Did you know? Cruise giant Carnival’s Arctic ships have a dirty secret. Enticing passengers with promises of first-row tickets to the Arctic’s stunning natural wonders, few people know that Carnival’s ships are powered by one of the dirtiest fossil fuels on the planet. It’s called heavy fuel oil, and if spilled, this dirty oil would … Read more
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — As Carnival Corporation’s first ships of the season arrive in the Arctic, an international coalition of environmental groups has joined together to call on the cruise giant to stop using one of the world’s cheapest and dirtiest fossil fuels—heavy fuel oil—on ships traveling in fragile Arctic and sub-Arctic waters. July marks the … Read more
Does it feel like the Arctic just can’t catch a break these days? Living in Alaska, I see changes to the climate first hand and I hear stories from those living in small communities along the Bering Sea and Arctic Ocean. I’m bombarded with relentless news coverage reminding me that the Arctic is melting, communities … Read more
Sheila Watt-Cloutier is an environmental, cultural, and human rights advocate from Canada and the former chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council. She is the author of “The Right to be Cold,” which is the culmination of her work over the last 25 years discussing climate change, leadership, and sustainability in the Arctic. On April 10, … Read more
Reporting directly from London, I’m excited to tell you that yesterday was a big day for Arctic waters and wildlife. Indigenous leaders and environmental activists like me convinced the international community to adopt new rules that require ships to avoid fragile marine ecosystems, reducing the threat of oil spills, environmental disasters, and harm to wildlife … Read more
The Trump administration is moving forward with its disastrous plan to hand Alaska’s waters over to Big Oil. Its first target? The Beaufort Sea in the Arctic Ocean. Tell Trump and his administration that you want to #ProtectTheArctic. Located above Northeastern Alaska between Point Barrow and Canada, the Beaufort Sea is experiencing the same decline … Read more
On February 21, I joined dozens of impassioned Alaskans to protest the Trump administration’s reckless plan to sell nearly all our coastline to Big Oil. Standing outside the Dena’ina Center in Anchorage, I watched through the fog of my breath in the chilly winter evening as Alaska Native activists called the plan a violation of … Read more
Despite the seriousness of the threat, the use of Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) by ships in the Arctic seems to have escaped the public consciousness and the media. It’s been overshadowed by more dramatic stories like melting glaciers and starving polar bears. But it should be one of the most talked about environmental concerns of … Read more
One of my most cherished gifts given to me is a beautiful sealskin vest made by my grandmother. She was from St. Lawrence Island in the northern Bering Sea between Russia and Alaska. There, life continues to be sustained by our traditions of subsistence, with blessed wildlife that has nourished our people for thousands of … Read more
I’m not going to lie to you. This has been a difficult year. Every day I remind myself why I’m in this fight: my son Paul and my daughter Eleanor. Since they were young, my wife Kim and I have taken them on summer backpacking trips to the Sierras, the Rockies, New Hampshire’s White Mountains, … Read more
When you keep information secret, the question is: what do you have to hide and who are you hiding it from? In the case of our national marine monuments and sanctuaries, it looks like President Trump and his administration are hiding from people like you and me! Why? Because they know that their attacks on … Read more
It’s almost hard to fathom unless you’ve seen it in person. Black ribbons of salmon—wild, Alaska salmon—running up clear rivers through spectacular, unspoiled country as far as you can see. This is the natural wonder and unmatched economic powerhouse that is Bristol Bay. The watershed is home to largest wild sockeye salmon run in the world. … Read more
Here is a quick update on our shared fight against Trump’s attempt to harm ocean life in the Pacific. After conducting a sham review of 27 of our nation’s monuments on land and in the sea, the Trump administration is now getting ready to gut protections for some of America’s greatest marine treasures. But we … Read more
London, July 7, 2017:- As the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 71) concluded today, the Clean Arctic Alliance welcomed the support from Member States for a proposal to identify measures which will mitigate the risks posed by the use of heavy fuel oil (HFO) in Arctic waters, and called on the … Read more
Good news this afternoon in London: The International Maritime Organization’s (IMO’s) marine environment protection committee just approved our coalition’s proposal to deal with the issue of dangerous heavy fuel oil in the Arctic. This means there will now be international rulemaking to mitigate risks of heavy fuel oil and, hopefully, phase out this dangerous oil in the Arctic. … Read more
President Trump announced that he would attempt to reverse the permanent protections against expanded offshore drilling in America’s Arctic and Atlantic oceans established by President Obama.
Washington D.C., April 18th, 2017:- A report published today by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), Alternatives to heavy fuel oil use in the Arctic: Economic and environmental tradeoffs finds that using heavy fuel oil in Arctic shipping creates such great risks compared to the cost of moving to safer fuels, that transitioning to … Read more