The Executive Order opening up areas of the Continental Shelf to oil and gas development announced by the White House on Friday has provoked a predictable storm of outrage from environmental groups.

At the heart of the opposition is the question of whether to allow industry access to the significant resources which lie under the Chukchi and Beaufort seas in the Arctic. For ENGOs the issue is a critical one, an unbreakable shibboleth. Accordingly, every possible argument against development has been deployed.