Rocky Kistner, Communications Associate, Washington, DC

In Hollywood’s latest cetacean love-fest, Big Miracle, three gray whales are trapped in the encroaching Arctic ice of the Chukchi Sea, soon to be part of a heroic rescue attempt by the local indigenous community, a Greenpeace activist (Drew Barrymore) and an oil company executive (Ted Danson) looking for some good PR for his expanding Arctic drilling plans. While the film is based on a real whale drama that took place 25 years ago (the oil executive later went to prison for trying to bribe a U.S. senator), it was never clear if the whales actually survived the ordeal.

But today, what is clear is that the battle over Arctic oil drilling is as intense as ever. That's particularly true for Shell Oil, which has been fighting a losing battle to drill new exploratory wells in the frigid Chukchi and Beaufort Seas where harsh weather and tougher government drilling standards are proving nearly impossible to overcome.

This week Shell finally announced it would give up its year-long attempt to drill in these pristine seas until the ice thaws next season. The oil behemoth demonstrated a Keystone Cops-style series of gaffes and missed deadlines that hardly lends confidence to ...

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