Waitrose is starting to open stores at Shell petrol stations across the UK. But a partnership with Shell is a partnership with Arctic destruction. Greenpeace are taking on the UK Supermarket with a campaign to try and stop further destruction of the Arctic. Shell says it can drill safely in the frozen Arctic, and that the likelihood of an accident is very low. But experience of the offshore oil and gas industry, as well as common sense and scientific consensus tells us there is no way to drill safely in the frozen north.A spill or accident in these icy waters would be disastrous and the conditions in the Arctic would make responding to such a disaster almost impossible. Waitrose is a values-based organisation with a commitment to ethical sourcing and sustainability, and Greenpeace are urging people to email the head of Waitrose directly to voice their concern.
In their only response to Greenpeace's concerns, a Waitrose spokesperson quoted; 'Shell has assured me that they intend to meet US legislation and will operate with respect for the environment.'
Shell has already broken US law when just a few months ago their ship, the Arctic Challenger, was found responsible for not one, but four illegal fluid discharges. And we know for a fact that there is no such thing as Arctic drilling 'with respect for the environment'. With fierce storms and huge ice floes, Arctic conditions are treacherous and there is no technology that can clean up the inevitable oil spills in icy waters, home to beautiful species found nowhere else.
As the ice melts, Shell is leading the charge for oil in the fragile and pristine Arctic.
Send a message to Waitrose's managing director and help save the Arctic.
Photo courtesy of Sean_hickin via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
