Summary: | Between 2000 and 2008, the area available to offshore oil and gas activities in Alaska waters increased eight-fold – from 9.4 million acres to 77 million acres. During those years, the Bush administration initiated oil development at an unprecedented pace and scale in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas of the U.S. Arctic Ocean, as well as Bristol Bay in the southeast Bering Sea. Oil and gas activities pose significant environmental risks that include: potential oil spills, noise pollution, toxicological impacts, physical impacts and socioeconomic impacts.
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