I mean...except for you can? I hate this argument, because it's totally disingenuous - you wouldn't support these people if they paddled up in a seal-skin qayak in qaspeks and mukluks - you'd throw out some nonsense about, "psha, how can these people be liberals? Look at all the marine mammals they had to kill to make the boat!" The truth is, we can do way better with our energy production, but we don't because of "market forces." But no, if a guy didn't use a locally sourced strip built kayak with ikmik for glue he's a total hypocrite when protesting the oil companies, amirite? This is nonsense - it's some sort of mix between a straw man argument and an ad hominem attack. Let's face it, you give these people a hard time because you're a conservative and like to feel like you're more ideologically pure than these people and the fact that generally (and on this I can sympathize) the type of people who'd paddle their kayak out to block an oil rig tend to be annoying - I get that, however they're not really wrong about . I'd personally suggest that protesting oil and gas development in a plastic boat is probably less hypocritical than, say, being pro-life but also supporting the war and the death penalty which is pretty common in conservative circles (probably more common than those who'd paddle out to harass Shell), but I digress.
We can drill more responsibly but we don't because doing so is expensive and we've prioritized economic prosperity over the environment. That is one of the fundamental (and seemingly intractable) problems of capitalism. Our civilization depends on oil yes - but we can extract it cleanly and safely while we reduce our reliance on oil in the mean time. This is actually something that 100% positively NEEDS to happen if we expect to survive as a species in the long run. If protesting drilling rigs with kayaks is how people raise awareness on this topic, then so be it. I say this as someone who fundamentally agrees with exploration for oil and gas in the arctic.
Before you tell me I'm some kind of hypocrite for flying around in airplanes and living in Alaska - you should know, I am a major supporter of oil and gas exploration and extraction. Energy production is literally the linchpin that holds our entire society together - but I will not condone it being done irresponsibly. I have what's called a "nuanced perspective" on the issue - something that's doesn't seem to be very common these days. See - the problem is not that we're doing the drilling so much as it is the case that the consequences for a screw up are pretty extreme and we're using old-ass equipment to do it. I imagine you can probably relate to that a bit, but the pipeline is old as hell, the rigs are old (hell the Polar Pioneer was built in '85), and there's no real incentive to invest tons of money into infrastructure. Because of the power some of these companies have, the ships are flagged in foreign countries where labor laws and safety laws are substantially less rigorous and the taxes are less. The stuff that is new and nice is often run by subcontractors so that there's plausible deniability when things go wrong (just read up on how Deepwater Horizon went down).
Shell is a bit of an example - a few years back they grounded the Kulluk on Sitkalidak island down by Old Harbor because they didn't have their poop together and because there were tax advantages to moving things when they did. If you read about Shell in Nigeria you'll probably be upset (seriously the history is F-ed up). Just recently in my local area an underwater pipeline ruptured and leaked natural gas for months. I think energy is great - hell, I'd love to WORK for an oil company. It's been my experience that oil companies are incredibly self-aware about past follies and the execs I have personally interacted with strive to do the right thing; sometimes that's not enough and the rest of society needs to step in and say, "Nah, dude, that ain't ok." Ideally that's with laws and balanced discussion, but sometimes that takes too long, or isn't sexy enough to rile up the public. The bottom line is, I will not tolerate negligence in the energy sector just as I wouldn't tolerate it in aviation and am fine with protests like this and I think most people should be. We have to do the right thing, and it's painfully obvious what that is in the long run. I understand that there are currently few viable alternatives to fossil fuels (to include coal) - but we need to begin the arduous process of solving this problem before it is too late.
I think the appropriate analogy to draw is smoking. If you've been smoking for 20 years, quitting cold turkey may not be something you can muster. Sure, it'd be better if we could quit oil and coal tomorrow, but we can't, the stress would give society a heart attack - instead, we've got to start chewing the gum (solar / wind) and vaping (natural gas) while we get off of Marlboro Menthol 100s with a dip in (oil and coal). The days of coal miners in WV and roughnecks in TX and AK are going to have to come to a close. It's not option in the long run to continue doing what we're doing to the environment - we need alternative energy, and it's going to suck as we transition, but it's not optional.
