Kayaktivists Across the Country Paddle in Protest of Arctic Drilling

Environmentalists furious with President Barack Obama’s continued support for Arctic drilling on Saturday descended on the White House and paddled onto waterways across the United States united in a call to end this dangerous expansion of our fossil fuel energy system.

In a display of solidarity with Seattle’s ‘kayaktivists’—who through repeated direct actions have tried to thwart Royal Dutch Shell’s Arctic drilling plans—activists in Minnesota, Florida, Boston, Detroit, and elsewhere launched floating protests to denounce what they say is a “fool’s journey” to drill for oil in the Chukchi Sea in the Alaskan Arctic.

Meanwhile, in Washington D.C.’s Lafayette Park, protesters donned polar bear and walrus suits and held signs calling on the president to suspend Shell’s permit. The oil giant’s drilling fleet is currently making its way from the Port of Seattle to the Alaskan coast, where it could begin exploratory drilling as soon as next week, activists warn.

Environmentalists have repeatedly criticized Arctic drilling as one of the most dangerous and extreme forms of fossil fuel extraction, as it threatens one of the world’s most pristine ecosystems while concurrently ensuring even greater carbon emissions.