Take Action
Arctic Votes Again Approaching in Congress
Your voice can make a difference
In
Alaska's far north, animals that inhabit the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge year round are preparing for winter. Ptarmigans have donned their
winter white; pregnant polar bears have set up dens; grizzlies are
beginning their hibernation. The natural quiet is broken only by the
howl of wolves or the bark of an arctic fox.
Meanwhile, in Congress, oil industry cronies continue to push a budget
bill that would convert this cherished, untouched wilderness into a vast
oil field. We cannot let that happen. Even if you have taken action many
times before,
we need your help again.
Several votes are expected soon in both the House and Senate.
These votes
will be close, and your action
can
make a difference.
Please click here to take action:
http://ga1.org/campaign/arctic_vote/in8didk2a78w76j?
The Goings-On in Congress
As
you read this, the oil industry's allies in Congress are pushing a
budget bill through Congress that would open the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge to drilling. Unless we stop them, this world-class
wilderness -- home to grizzlies, caribou, wolves and millions of birds
-- will become a vast oil field with its heavy equipment, pollution and
miles of roads.
The
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is expected to pass its
version of Arctic Refuge drilling legislation today. The House Resources
Committee is expected to follow suit next week. After that, the Budget
Committees in the House and Senate will package the drilling language,
along with changes from other committees, into a single omnibus
Reconciliation Bill. Each chamber could vote as early as the end of this
month on the completed reconciliation bill.
Arctic Drilling is Paramount Goal of These Bills
The
bill drafted by the Senate committee and the bill we expect to see
emerge from the House committee leave no room for doubt: they are
written to grease the skids for drilling in the Arctic Refuge with as
little environmental oversight as possible.
But ask yourself: if drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is
so clean, why does the legislation let the industry off the hook and
exempt drilling from so many environmental laws?
Both
the drilling language in the Senate budget bill and the version likely
to be considered in the House would exempt or severely limit the
application of fundamental environmental laws that would otherwise apply
to drilling in the Refuge. The Senate version doesn't even try to
disguise its real agenda: to give oil companies free rein to
industrialize the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Make
no mistake: any version of this legislation would open the entire
1.5-million acre Coastal Plain - the biological heart of the Arctic
Refuge - to oil and gas drilling.
Some Taking Advantage of Natural Disasters to Promote Industry Goals
In
Katrina and Rita's aftermath, some members of Congress are trying to
push Arctic Refuge drilling as the answer to America's energy problems.
They are also using the Gulf Coast tragedy as an excuse to slash the
very government programs that help the neediest Americans.
To
add insult to injury, any oil from the Refuge, if it is found at all,
would take years to come to production and would affect the price of
gasoline by just one penny per gallon! And that would be 20 years from
now, at peak production. In the meantime, consumers get nothing - except
an industrial wasteland where a wildlife refuge used to be.
Famed
conservationist Aldo Leopold once wrote that,
"Having to
squeeze the last drop of utility out of the land has the same desperate
finality as having to chop up the furniture to keep warm."
America is neither desperate nor shortsighted. We can do better than
sacrifice the Arctic Refuge to our gas-guzzling economy. We have the
means and the technology to wean ourselves from profligate oil use.
Objections to Reconciliation Bill Are No Longer Just About Arctic Refuge
Drilling
Conservationists like you are not alone in opposing the Reconciliation
bill. A broad and growing coalition of progressive organizations --
operating under the banner of the Emergency Campaign for America's
Priorities (ECAP) -- has added its voices to the chorus demanding that
Congress reject the Reconciliation Bill's draconian cuts to Medicare and
Medicade, student aid and other vital programs.
We Need Your Help
Please take a moment to tell Congress to keep the oil industry out of
the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Adding your own words at this time
is absolutely critical to the success of this campaign.
http://ga1.org/campaign/arctic_vote/in8didk2a78w76j?
This
vote will be very close. Your action can make the difference. Thank you
for your help.
You
can also send your letter directly to your Members of Congress. You can
look up the names, fax numbers, and web forms for your Members here:
http://ga1.org/wilderness/leg-lookup/search.tcl
For
More Information
- Factsheet: Drilling Into The Legislation:
http://www.wilderness.org/OurIssues/Arctic/ArcticRealityCheck.cfm
- Factsheet: Penny A Gallon:
http://www.wilderness.org/Library/Documents/upload/PennyaGallon20yrs1.pdf
- More about ECAP's call-in day (which runs through this Thursday only):
http://www.ACTNOW.org
Sample Letter
Dear
Senators/Representative:
The
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge today is an unspoiled landscape as wild
and free as it was 10,000 years ago. It's home to polar bears, wolves,
grizzlies, and millions of migratory birds. And it's a holy place to the
native Gwich'in people, whose culture is inextricably linked to the
130,000 caribou that give birth there every spring.
But
some in Congress are determined to turn this sacred ground into an
industrial wasteland. Even though data from the Department of Energy
indicate that at best, drilling might lower gas prices by about a penny
a gallon -- in 20 years. A penny? Gas prices change by more than that
from one day to the next.
The
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a priceless natural treasure to be
protected and passed on to our children - not something to be given away
to the oil companies on the false promise of a penny two decades from
now.
Wrecking the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for a penny a gallon 20
years from now is the wrong choice for America. I urge you to oppose any
legislation that would open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to
drilling. Please keep the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge the way it is:
wild, unspoiled, and free of oil rigs.
Sincerely,
(Your name and address)
Another Way to Help Protect the Arctic Refuge
You
can help The Wilderness Society's efforts to keep the Arctic Refuge wild
by making a secure online donation to our Arctic Refuge fund. So far
we've raised almost $26,000, but we need to raise $50,000 by October 31
to meet our goal. Click this link to donate today:
https://secure.ga1.org/05/arcticvote/nq12a1Fp16c-j?
The
Wilderness Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to conserving
American wilderness. Our mission is to ensure that future generations
will enjoy the clean air and water, wildlife, beauty, and opportunity
for recreation and renewal provided by pristine forests, rivers,
deserts, and mountains. As a subscriber to WildAlert, you join more than
300,000 Wilderness Society members and supporters in our efforts to
protect and restore America's wild places. |