When Shell's drill rig the Kulluk ran aground on New Year's Eve, it was in a globally significant Important Bird Area. Now that Shell and the Coast Guard have towed the Kulluk off the rocks and to a bay...it's still in the Important Bird Area where more than 100,000 seabirds overwinter, including Black Scoters and Harlequin Ducks. This Audubon map shows what's at stake, or you can read more here. Luckily, Shell happened to be in the backyard of a Coast Guard station when the Kulluk hit rock so there was help and equipment nearby. What would have happened if the Kulluk ran aground 1,000 from a Coast Guard station...say in the Arctic Ocean?

(Photo: Male Harlequin Duck by Peter Massas)