Environmental groups seek end to all Arctic Ocean drilling

ANCHORAGE, ALASKA Royal Dutch Shell's decision to end its quest for oil in the Arctic waters off Alaska sparked jubilation among environmental activists, who said Tuesday that they will seize the opportunity to seek an end to all drilling to in the region. But while Shell's move is a definite setback for oil companies, it does not mean offshore drilling is dead or that the Arctic Ocean has any greater protection now than it had last week. Shell's decision gives advocates on both sides a chance to pause and consider whether Arctic drilling should continue, said Mike LeVine of the ocean-advocacy group in Juneau known as Oceana. Royal Dutch Shell PLC spent more than $7 billion on Arctic offshore development in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas and was dogged at every regulatory level by environmental groups, which feared that a spill in the harsh climate would be difficult to clean up and devastating to polar bears, walruses, seals and other wildlife. The next step for many environmental advocates is to establish "some sort of binding policy so that these decisions are not up to oil companies," said Cassady Sharp, spokeswoman for Greenpeace USA in Washington, D.C...more