Grocery Store Manager in Alaska

Josef Ahmaogak, manager of one of the two grocery stores in Wainwright, is convinced that the oil industry has the technology to operate in Arctic waters. Shell have shown the community presentations demonstrating their ability to drill in harsh conditions, sighting their operations in the North Sea as an example. “We have the currents and the ice and know how devastating it could be. But they have shown us the technology and it will withstand it. Nothing will happen. We are of course a bit worried but the ocean is shallow, not so deep as the Gulf of Mexico,” he says.

Restrictions

Ok for Greenpeace use and for approved external Greenpeace campaign related use. Contact the photographer directly or Greenpeace UK (photo.uk@greenpeace.org) for any other external licensing or sales.

Unique identifier: GP04BGP

Type: Image

Shoot date: 17/10/2011

Locations: Alaska, Arctic, Arctic Coastal Plain, North America, United States of America, Wainwright

Credit line: © Rose Sjölander / 70°

Ranking: ★★★★ (E)

Containers

Shoot:

70° North - Arctic Documentation

70° North is a multimedia project documenting the impact of climate change and resources exploration in the Arctic.
Shell's plans to drill offshore in the Alaskan Arctic in 2012 has divided the native communities who now stand at a crossroads between continued benefits from industry generated revenues and protecting the marine environment they have depended on for thousands of years. Shell's proposed offshore drill site is in the path of the bowhead whale's migration route. Many Inupiat hunters are concerned about Shell's lack of spill response capabilities if licenses are granted to drill offshore in the Arctic's Beaufort and Chukchi seas

Greenpeace is campaigning for a global sanctuary to be declared around the uninhabited area of the North Pole to save the Arctic from attempts by oil companies to exploit the region’s resources for short term profit.

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