Toronto – Canadian award-winning actress Rachel McAdams is lending her support to the cause of Arctic protection through a new video from Greenpeace, director Jason van Bruggen and creative agency DOT DOT DASH.
The video shows a lonely polar bear walking through urban landscapes and interacting with city-dwellers, while McAdams provides the voice for the bear, speaking about how she will soon be homeless as a result of climate change and Arctic oil drilling. In June, McAdams appeared with actor and activist Jane Fonda at Toast the Coast in Vancouver, an event aimed at raising awareness about the dangers of Arctic oil drilling and tar sands projects.
“The presence of oil companies in the Arctic brings with it great risk, not only to this already fragile environment but to our ecosystem as a whole,” said McAdams. “Accidents happen and the Arctic can’t afford that. It’s time to ask for cleaner, safer alternatives. Several alternatives already exist that can help create jobs and clean up our planet at the same time. I hope this video inspires others to take action on this important issue.”
The video was released on July 1, because it marked the opening of Shell’s window to drill in the fragile waters of the Arctic Ocean off Alaska. Shell’s plans to drill in the Arctic this summer have been controversial and faced widespread opposition globally.
Shell’s Arctic drilling plans were dealt a serious blow when the Obama administration ruled that their drilling plans violated federal regulations on the protection of wildlife. The company had planned to drill two wells in Arctic waters this summer, but in light of this ruling they will only be able to drill one.
“The latest scientific research is telling us that most of the world’s fossil fuels, including Arctic oil and gas, need to be left in the ground if we’re to avoid the worst impacts of climate change,” said Greenpeace Arctic campaigner Alex Speers-Roesch. “This ruling is a serious setback for Shell, but the Arctic is still at risk. In Greenland and Canada oil companies are pulling back from offshore Arctic drilling, yet Shell is recklessly pushing ahead with their plans in Alaska. Shell should listen to the voices of the over 7 million people who’ve called for a ban on offshore oil drilling in the Arctic and cancel their plans to drill.”
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