GREENPEACE INVADE RIG IN GREENLAND

Greenpeace protesters have shut down a British oil drilling operation in the sea off Greenland by avoiding their navy and climbing into the rig. They are now in the rig and say they have sufficient food for several days.

They say that we must wean ourselves off oil and learn to live another way. A spokesman said that they have to keep the energy companies out of the Arctic and we must kick our addiction to oil.

They intend to stop the rig from drilling for as long as they can because there is a limited amount of time available to the before the winter weather sets in and drilling has to be suspended until next spring.

One of their number said: ''The BP Gulf oil disaster showed us it's time to go beyond oil.

I suspect that, in fact, it did not. Not any more than any other disaster anywhere in the world where lives have been lost and environments hurt in the pursuit of energy.

I suspect that what it really told us is that we must not cut corners with safety. It told us that, even if it costs a bit more at the time, in the end it will cost a lot less to be careful.

The Greenpeace ship, the Esperanza, set sail from London last month with a pledge to target what the environmental group described as one of the 10 most dangerous deep water drilling sites in the world. As the Esperanza approached the site the campaigners were confronted by a Danish warship sent to protect the drilling operation off the Greenland coast. The Danish government has responsibility for the security of Greenland.

I would be the first to say that the wildlife and the environment in the Arctic Ocean are immensely important. I would be the first to say that by law, and with massive penalties for non compliance, safety on these rigs should be paramount. And I hope that if Greenland does not already have this kind of legislation, its government wastes no time in bringing it in.

We can’t and we won’t, however, stand in the way of this progress. The discovery of oil and gas will be a massive boost to the Greenland economy and make life immeasurably easier for these hard working and hard [pressed people living on the edge of the world. And whilst I agree that we should be looking beyond oil for the future (which we are), the present is still very much with us.

Perhaps Greenpeace would like to tell us how they got to Greenland, from England? This boat of theirs has oars I suppose? Maybe it would take them as far as China, where they could try climbing into a Chinese oil rig.....