SPILL: Time to halt the drilling

I have been watching with horror as one of the worst oil spills in American history continues unabated, and millions of gallons of crude oil now threaten our nation's vital Gulf coast ecosystem.  This latest national environmental crisis reaffirms the oil industry's history of consistently underestimating the risks of drilling.

In light of the crisis, President Obama recently called for a timeout on new offshore drilling, but didn't specifically include the Arctic Ocean. Despite the fact that there is no way to clean up a major oil spill amid the Arctic's broken sea-ice conditions, exploratory drilling is slated to begin in the Arctic Ocean in less than 60 days.

If the oil industry can't even stop a spill in the Gulf of Mexico, surrounded by all of its infrastructure and technology, how will they ever stop one at the top of the world?

KAREN ORCHARD

Kellogg