Oil Explorartion in the Arctic

This week, Shell Oil announced it will end oil exploration off of Alaska's Arctic Coast "for the foreseeable future. Groups such as the Sierra Club see this victory as showing that even the most powerful corporations in the world can be changed when faced with grassroots pressure united to protect the wildlife and wildlands.

Shell abandoned its Arctic drilling plans in part because strict regulations required to drill made it untenable, and summer drilling just one well with disappointing results, combined with low crude prices.

Everything from tweets, Facebook posts, calls, comments, protests and kayaktavist actions shined a spotlight on the corporation and the Obama administration.

But another oil company, Hilcorp Alaska, is working to obtain permits to drill in the Arctic Ocean.


Click here to tell President Obama to cancel all oil and gas lease sales in the Arctic (via Sierra Club)

Down the Shore Ecology

Sandy Hook

Here we are at mid-summer at our Jersey beaches. Of course, when kids go back to school there is still plenty of good weather and things to do down the shore. September and October are my favorite times to be at the shore.

If you are looking to the Jersey shore as a place of nature and the environment more than just as a beach spot, you might be interested in checking out these sites with ecological information.

1. NJ Clean Shores Program
2. NJ Adopt A Beach Program
3. NJ Coastal Nonpoint Source Pollution Control Program
4. New Jersey Clean Marina Program
5. Monmouth County Planning Board's Eco-Tips for Sand Dunes 
6. NJ Beach Nesting Bird Management
7. Bureau of Marine Water Monitoring
8. USEPA Beaches Website
9. Clean Ocean Action
10. American Littoral Society
11. Surfrider Foundation - Jersey Shore Chapter
12. Ocean Conservancy
13. Alliance for Living Ocean
14. NJDA - Jersey Seafood
15. TheSurfersView.com - Surf Cams

Island Beach State Park