The news late Sunday night that Shell was pulling out of the Arctic was a thrill, especially for those of us fighting for years to protect the northern reaches of Alaska. But this huge win will only be a temporary reprieve unless we can permanently ban offshore oil drilling in the Arctic.
Even as Shell says it will withdraw from Arctic exploration "for the foreseeable future," following the lead of other oil companies that have abandoned Arctic drilling as too costly and dangerous, both the company and industry analysts are saying that an increase in oil prices could renew interest in Arctic drilling.
We shouldn't give Big Oil another opportunity to gamble with our climate or Alaska's wildlife. That's why the movement that helped win this historic victory must continue to press for permanent solutions to this problem, in a few different ways.
Congress can permanently ban offshore oil drilling in the Arctic by approving the Stop Arctic Ocean Drilling Act of 2015, identical bills that have been introduced in the Senate (by Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-OR) and the House (by Rep. Jared Huffman, D-CA). Both would prohibit new oil leases and the renewal of existing leases, removing this sensitive ecosystem from becoming another oil field.
But considering that Congress is controlled by a Republican Party that has been hostile to addressing climate change and reining in fossil fuels, a better bet might be to persuade President Obama to take Arctic drilling off the table.
The president has the power to unilaterally remove offshore areas from fossil fuel development, pursuant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. He could do the same thing with onshore leases under the Mineral Leasing Act.
Obama should have never approved Shell's drilling plans because there are no regulatory requirements for drilling strong enough to ensure safety in the hazardous Arctic waters. The Department of the Interior acknowledged there is a 75 percent chance of Shell causing a major oil spill - and it's unbelievable that the feds issued the permits anyway! But we'll breathe easy because Shell didn't strike oil.
Shell's failure in the Arctic should become a transformational moment for Obama and our addiction to deadly fossil fuels. While he's at it, he should pledge to end all new fossil fuel leasing on public lands and oceans, which would keep 450 billion tons of greenhouse pollution out of the atmosphere.
But more than Congress or President Obama, the key to permanently ending Arctic oil drilling is the broad-based public movement that grew over years and rose up against Shell's dangerous project this summer. From the coalition of environmental groups that filed lawsuit challenging the project to the "kayaktivisits" in Seattle who blocked Shell's drilling rig to common people around the world who demonstrated or tweeted their #ShellNo message - we're the only guarantee that the next president wouldn't just undo whatever Obama does in the Arctic.
We've all helped create this historic opportunity to challenge Big Oil and make "keep it in the ground" a mantra that is catching on around the world. Now we just need to finish the job.