Thousands Gather for the Paddle in Seattle

Thanks to Shell, folks in Seattle have a new addition to their skyline: a towering oil rig named the Polar Pioneer.

Following last week’s action by the Obama administration granting conditional approval to drill in the Arctic, Shell moved the Polar Pioneer to Seattle, prior to deployment in the Chukchi Sea off the northwest coast of Alaska. This past Thursday, the rig arrived in the Port of Seattle, igniting a groundswell of Seattle residents, Alaskan Natives and tribal activists, and environmental activists saying “Shell No” to drilling in the Arctic Ocean.

On Saturday, thousands of people turned out for a major, peaceful demonstration to call on the Obama administration to hear their demands. Dubbed the “Paddle in Seattle,” several hundred “kayaktivists” paddled in the Puget Sound, and thousands more marched through the streets to demand that the Obama administration reverse its course and cancel the conditional approval granted for Shell to drill in the Arctic.

In the center of the “kayaktivists” was the People’s Platform, a 4,000 square foot barge powered by 100 percent renewable energy. The stark contrast of hundreds of colorful kayaks and a barge run on wind and solar energy next to the massive oil rig half the size of the Space Needle served as a powerful message that it’s time we moved beyond the risks and dangers of drilling in the Arctic and seek a cleaner future.

If Shell has its way, this rig will eventually head north to the Chukchi Sea, where, according to the government’s own analysts, there is a 75 percent chance of a major oil spill. It’s mind-boggling to think that the administration would approve drilling when it knows there’s an overwhelming chance of failure.

Shell is going to spill -- it’s a question of when, not if -- and the first to be affected will be the indigenous villages along the Alaskan shore. Alaskan Native activists like Mae Hank, who joined us on Saturday, rely on the Arctic Ocean for their food and way of life – a way of life that now has a 75 percent chance of being destroyed.

As if a 75 percent chance of an oil spill isn’t enough, moving forward with drilling in the Arctic Ocean brings a 100 percent chance of further climate disruption. The people of Seattle know this, and that’s why they turned out in droves Saturday.

Saturday’s event wasn’t to tell Shell that we not only don’t want their oil, but that we don’t need it.

President Obama gets it. In his speech justifying his Arctic decision he made this bold statement: “I believe that we are going to have to transition off of fossil fuels as a planet in order to prevent climate change."

It is time for President Obama to listen to the people and his own words, and say “Shell No” to drilling in the Chukchi Sea.