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Drilling for oil in Arctic Ocean is fraught with danger

This month the US approved four wells for drilling by Shell Oil in the Arctic Ocean off Alaska, an energy frontier. But Shell's plan to recover after an oil spill is completely inadequate, given the region's remoteness and weather.
In Pictures: Alaska, all natural
NASA plans to boldly go to the Arctic

The mission will seek to unlock clues about the changing Arctic climate and the shifting ice conditions that affect ocean ecosystems.
Arctic drilling opponents gain momentum from Gulf oil spill

Exploratory drilling is scheduled for July in the waters off Alaska's northern shore. Environmental groups, reeling from the Gulf of Mexico BP oil spill, are fighting to put those plans on hold.
Alaska oil's new 'Gulf of Mexico'

Oil companies are eyeing Alaska's largely untapped outer continental shelf. Critics say that's another Exxon Valdez waiting to happen.
Bright Green
Arctic Ocean meltdown: Say goodbye to the Arctic ice cap

The Arctic ice cap will disappear? A new study says the Arctic Ocean could be ice-free during the summer months in less than 20 years.
Arctic sea ice melting faster than expected

If the pattern continues, warming effects could reach up to 900 miles inland, melting permafrost
Beneath Arctic ice pack, teeming life holds extraterrestrial clues

Microscopic organisms thrive in polar-ice 'brine channels' whose conditions mirror some of those found in space.
Beneath Arctic ice pack, teeming life holds extraterrestrial clues

Microscopic organisms thrive in polar-ice 'brine channels' whose conditions mirror some of those found in space.
Beneath Arctic ice pack, teeming life holds extraterrestrial clues

Microscopic organisms thrive in polar-ice 'brine channels' whose conditions mirror some of those found in space.
Climate worries complicate Alaska drilling plan

Lease sales could produce 15 billion barrels of oil, but environmentalists say drilling would threaten already melting habitat.