1. ANWDR
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To Drill or Not to Drill is a multidisciplinary problem-based
learning exercise, which intends to increase students'
knowledge of a variety of topics through a real-world
environmental topic. In addition, drilling in the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) impacts students either
directly (depending on the age level) or indirectly (through
their parents) as gas prices soar to record high levels.
Submitted by-
Sagar Bhatti
SAP ID- 500102584
2. The Norway Protest
In 2016, Norway granted a license to explore the oil and gas in the Barents sea inside the
Arctic circle.
The Arctic Circle may contain 160 billion barrels of oil and 30% of the planet's
undiscovered natural gas, the US Geological Survey estimates.
The activists argued that "by allowing new drilling in a climate crisis, Norway is in breach
of fundamental human rights".
They say that drilling in the Arctic could pollute the polar ice sheets and cause them to melt
at a faster rate.
Three Norwegian courts rejected their case, but the ECHR is taking it seriously and asked
Norway's government to make its defence.
The ECHR is considering making this an "impact case", meaning that its ruling, in this case,
could set a precedent for similar cases throughout the European Union. If it does so, it could
make a ruling in the next few months.
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3. The Dispute
There is a dispute over who owns a 1,070-mile long (1,721 km) chain of
undersea mountains called the Lomonosov Ridge, which runs through the
North Pole.
Canada, Russia, and Greenland all claim it as their own. Whoever succeeds can
also claim the 55,000 square miles of sea around the North Pole.
In 2007, Russian explorers alarmed its Arctic neighbors by planting its national
flag on the seabed at the North Pole.
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4. Hope
Environmental activists have increasingly been using the courts to force governments and
firms to take a greener line.
Last year, a Dutch court told the energy firm, Royal Dutch Shell, that by 2030 its
emissions must be 45% lower than 2019 levels - a much bigger cut than the company had
initially said it would make. Friends of the Earth brought the case.
In 2018, Colombia's supreme court ordered the government to take urgent action to stop
the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest, saying it deprived children of the right to a
healthy environment.
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5. Conclusion
In this day and age, oil and gas are the backbones of the world energy supply, and even after
the advent of new and renewable sources of energy we cannot do away with oil and gas
completely, everybody is talking about reaching “net zero” and not absolute zero, therefore,
we believe we should continue to find better ways for exploration and extraction and develop
better safety mechanisms to prevent any kind of mishaps in the future.
Oil and Gas will continue to be a significant part of the World Energy Mix hence we should
promote sustainable drilling techniques and deploy advanced safety mechanisms.
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