The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board has rejected an attempt by Corridor Resources to limit the impact of an environmental assessment process on their license to drill in the Gulf of St Lawrence (you can read the decision here).

A bit of background:

The Council of Canadians along with Friends of the Earth, Norway, Greenpeace-Canada, IndigenousEnvironmental Network, REDOIL Network and others are sponsoring an international statement against Arctic offshore drilling.

Add your voice to the demand to stop Arctic offshore drilling by signing the statement here:

Leave it in the ground: Statement against Arctic offshore drilling.

The statement demonstrates international unity and solidarity in opposing Arctic offshore drilling.

The statement reads:

We, the undersigned, oppose offshore drilling in the Arctic.

Today, Foreign Ministers from Norway, Iceland, Finland, Sweden, Russia, Greenland, Denmark and the U.S. met for the Arctic Council's ministerial meeting in Nuuk

Greenland to discuss the future of the Arctic. In the absence of a Foreign Minister (Lawrence Canon was not re-elected) Harper appointed Leona Aglukkaq, MP from Nunavut (Health Minister before the recent election) to represent Canada.

The meeting, which has drawn international media attention, is seen as one of the most important in the history of the Arctic Council. It is being framed as critical in outlining next steps for the 'development' of the Arctic, including oil, gas and mineral exploration and exploitation.

In the lead up to the 7th Arctic Council meeting in Nuuk, Greenland May 12, the Council of Canadians co-ordinated an open letter sent by organizations to the Arctic Coastal State Foreign Ministers of Canada, U.S., Russia, Greenland, Denmark and Norway, demanding a moratorium on offshore drilling in the Arctic.

With the Arctic increasingly being seen as a final frontier for fossil fuel development, the open letter affirms international unity around concerns with, and opposition to, the pursuit of offshore drilling.

The Council of Canadians sees this as a first step in building global solidarity opposing Arctic offshore drilling.

Ed. note: This is the final edition of the Mulch. To keep up with the best environmental coverage the progressive media has to offer, follow The Media Consortium on Twitter or connect with us on Facebook.

The National Oil Spill Commission released its report on last year’s BP oil spill this week. The report laid out the blame for the spill, tagging each of the three companies working on the Deepwater Horizon at the time, Halliburton, Transocean and BP, and also offered prescriptions for avoiding similar disasters in the future.

As Mother Jones‘ Kate Sheppard notes, it’s unlikely the recommendations will impact policy going forward.