subhankar banerjee, welcome to democracy now!n you talk about the obama administration decision and what this means for the arctic? >> the decision is both responsible and reckless. let me clarify something at the beginning. what the administration has approved now is the exploration plans for shell to drill this summer, starting from july to october. but this is not -- this is the most significant permit that shall needs, but not all of the permits. she'll still needs more permits -- shell still needs more permits. that is why the activists are working very hard to make sure some of these permits are not granted. the primary reasons, a spill in the arctic ocean would be far more devastating than what happened in the gulf of mexico. in the administration has finally acknowledged after losing in two federal courts, one in 2010 and one later on, there is a 75% chance of one or more major spills is exploration leads to production. a spill is inevitable. if a spill does happen, as you mentioned, if it happens late in the season like

amy: for more we go to washington state where we're joined by subhankar banerjee. is a renowned photographer, writer and activist who has spent the past 15 years working for the conservation of the arctic, and raising awareness about indigenous human rights and climate change. he is editor of the anthology, "arctic voices: resistance at the tipping point." his recent piece for tomdispatch is called, "to drill or not to drill, that is the question." in 2012, he won a cultural freedom award from the lannan foundation. can you talk about the obama administration decision and what this means for the arctic? >> the decision is both responsible and reckless. let me clarify something at the beginning. what the administration has approved now is the exploration plans for shell to drill this summer, starting from july to october. but this is not -- this is the most significant permit that shall needs, but not all of the permits. she'll still needs more permits -- shell still needs more permits. that is why the activists are working very hard to make sure some of these permi