The wild Arctic Ocean just got a blast of good news. Yesterday Shell Oil bowed to the inevitable and announced it will not be drilling for oil off the coast of Alaska this summer. Now the region’s coastal villages and its whales, dolphins, and polar bears will be spared a repeat of Shell’s disaster-laden attempt to drill two summers ago. Shell’s decision follows on the heels of a federal court ruling last week. The court agreed with NRDC and our allies that the Bush administration wildly underestimated the potential for oil spills and other hazards when it decided to issue oil leases off Alaska’s remote north coast. That violates federal law and throws the whole lease program into limbo. This opens up a priceless opportunity for the Obama administration. It is their chance to step back from a leasing program not of their making and develop a fresh approach […]