A version of this editorial appeared in print on February 26, 2012, on page SR10 of the New York edition
Oil drilling off the North Slope of Alaska now seems virtually a sure thing. This month, the Interior Department gave tentative approval to Shells plans for responding to a potential spill in the Chukchi Sea, an important step toward approval of the companys plan to drill six wells in the Chukchis frigid and forbidding waters. The company still needs a permit, and before the administration grants one it must be absolutely sure that Shell can meet the safety conditions stipulated in the approval.