Defenders of Wildlife
The House of Representatives voted on Feb. 16 to open the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and along almost every acre of our coastline including off the East Coast, West Coast, the protected eastern Gulf of Mexico and Alaska’s Bristol Bay to oil drilling all under the guise of funding this year’s transportation bill.
The funding issue is a scam. Even the most generous revenue estimates from this reckless expansion of drilling will not be enough to fund proposed transportation projects in the bill. In addition, what small amounts of revenue might be generated from oil and gas leasing in the Arctic refuge would not be seen for ten years as oil companies will still need to explore, apply for drilling permits and start development. In short, H.R. 3408 is a fiscal gimmick that relies on unknown future revenues that are speculative at best to pay for transportation projects today.
Upon passage of the bill, Defenders’ president and CEO Jamie Rappaport Clark, said, “Today, the House approved the most radical drilling-bill we have seen in recent memory. This fiscal boondoggle would industrialize the pristine coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, home to iconic wildlife like polar bears and the Porcupine Caribou herd, exposing thousands of miles of coastline to chronic pollution from offshore drilling and potential oil disasters like the Deepwater Horizon.
The Arctic refuge is the largest onshore denning area for America’s polar bears.
The vote comes only one day after an exploratory well exploded on Alaska’s North Slope, spewing drilling mud, leaking natural gas and requiring the intervention of a company specializing in blowout control.
“Yesterday’s exploratory well explosion on Alaska’s North Slope demonstrates once again that drilling is a dangerous business. We can’t afford to take those risks with some of our most pristine and fragile places, some of which may never recover should a drilling accident occur. The Senate should reject this funding scam and look for realistic ways to meet our transportation needs without sacrificing the health of our environment.”
For more information, click here.
This is insane. We must stop them somehow .
We must protect the land and the animals. America the Beautiful will be far from it. The damage that has been and will be done threatens everything.
I guess these people don’t care about our grandchildren being able to see and enjoy the beauty of this great nation.They also don’t care about the wildlife that lives there.Do we have to take everything away from the animals and the people who enjoy them as well as destroying the beauty of the land???
Stop voting Republican and buy electric / hybrid cars. That’s how you stop their greedy insanity.
Here we are scrapping the bottom of the fossil fuel barrel while leadership ignores alternative energy and blatantly shows how beholding they are to the oil industry .. dark days ahead for our environment with the continued rule by money .. the tool money is an outdated hindrance to human progress
We are beholden to the international cartels. America has lost it’s will to lead and is now run by proxy from the board rooms of the international energy corps, the chemical corps,and assorted multimillionaires who need only suggest changes in the laws to get them put through. Our water is stolen from us, bottled, and sold back to us at an exorbitant price. Illegal mining runs rampant.
And other countries look to us for leadership?
This is sickening, these politicians have lived most of their lives already and have no consideration for the up coming generations who would want to live in a world that has some beauty and peace. Nethermind the harm for our poor animals and our earth. They have sold out our environment. Ths means everything they represent is a lie. And they seem to do it whether they have the people of our countries support or not. That doesn’t represent democracy at all. Shame on all of them!
Well, its not a done deal yet. Senate may not let it ride given the leverage they’re getting with the outrageous women’s health issues. Republicans are looking more and more like aliens with each passing day. And then of course there’s always the president and his veto!! I dont think he really wants to upset his liberal friends right now…so dont let Congress think its the Boogie Man just yet!!! Keep those petitions flying…keep those Youtube videos viral…wear your t-shirts…take a stand…BE HEARD!!!
ANWR is a pinhead on a postage stamp on a bilboard…