Dr Hans Thewissen from North Eastern Ohio Medical University examines the remains of a bowhead whale carcass left by local Inupiat subsistence whale hunters in Barrow, Alaska. Thewissen is studying how bone density changes with age, and if bone weight and fat is regulated by hormones for the whale's buoyancy in the water. Shell's plans to drill offshore in the Alaskan Arctic in 2012 has divided the native communities of the North Slope Borough. Alaska's Arctic people 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. The 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.