According to the World Wildlife Federation, the Arctic governments and industry in the Arctic are no more prepared today for a major oil spill than they were 20 years ago. Only a few days away from the 20^th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill (March 24^th), the WWF is asking that all new offshore oil development in the Arctic be halted until there is improvement in the technologies in place to make sure that if there is another major oil spill like the Exon Valdez, it can be properly cleaned up.

WWF’s vice president for marine and arctic policy, Bill Eichbaum, says,

“While new regulations are in place regarding response to oil spill disasters in the last 20 years, the Arctic itself has changed considerably and is much more vulnerable today. Sea ice is disappearing and open water seasons are lasting longer, creating a frenzy to stake claims on the Arctic’s rich resources – especially oil and gas development. Oil spills can be devastating to Arctic marine environments given the current lack of oil spill response capabilities. We need a ‘time-out’ until protections are in place for this fragile, extraordinary place.”

The WWF is also recommending that certain areas in the Arctic should be deemed “no-go zones”. These zones would never be allowed to be developed for oil and gas.  The WWF’s criteria for a “no-go zone” includes areas where an oil spill would create irreversible damage or an area in the Arctic where it would basically be impossible to clean up an oil spill.

The WWF cays that Bristol Bay should be one of these hands-off areas, since the fishing in that area brings in slated to bring in between 50-80 billion dollars over the next 25-40 years, whereas the oil and gas development in the area will only bring in around 7.7 billion dollars for that same time period.