At the end of 2005, Americans won a major victory for the pristine Arctic Refuge, when Arctic drilling was successfully kept out of both the final budget reconciliation and defense spending bills. Millions of people called on Congress to oppose these underhanded maneuvers, and our voices were heard loud and clear on Capitol Hill.
But now it’s a new year, and a new ball game. Once again, the Senate Budget Committee Chairman Judd Gregg (R-NH) has taken the unfortunate action of including Arctic Refuge drilling in the budget bill for next year. By burying the drilling language in the federal budget, drilling proponents have shown a blatant disregard for the American public’s desire to keep the Arctic Refuge safe from the destructive impacts of oil development.
| Already sent a letter? Take the next step: CALL YOUR SENATORS! |
|
The message is the same as it has always been: Save the Arctic Refuge!
Just dial (toll free!) the capitol switchboard: 1-877-762-8762.
Then ask to be connected to your senator’s office. You can use the sample script below as a guide:
- My name is [NAME] and I live in [CITY]
- I am very upset that Arctic Refuge drilling is once again in the budget bill
- I want the senator to oppose any budget that would threaten this pristine refuge
OTHER POINTS TO MAKE:
o Instead of debating this dead-end issue, Congress should be discussing real, clean energy solutions
o Using the budget to open the Arctic Refuge to drilling is an abuse of the budget process and cannot be condoned
o This issue was decided last year. It’s time to put this debate behind us for good
o I believe the Arctic Refuge should be protected because...
The stakes are high, and a quick call is an easy and effective way to make your voice heard. | |
The fate of a wild place
At the heart of the debate is the pristine Arctic Refuge coastal plain, home to polar bears, brown bears, musk oxen, and wolves, along with millions of migratory birds and the Porcupine caribou herd, which migrates thousands of miles to calve there during the summer months. The Gwich'in people depend upon this annual migration for their subsistence way of life, and call the coastal plain "the place where life begins." This 1.5-million-acre area between the Brooks Range and the Arctic Ocean is the biological heart of the 19 million acres designated by Congress in 1980 as a national wildlife refuge.
The spider web of roads and pipelines necessary to wrest oil from this unique landscape would broadly and permanently damage an enormous swath of the coastal plain. Allowing drilling in the Arctic Refuge to be slipped through as part of the federal budget won’t lower anyone’s energy bills, but would permanently mar a pristine public wilderness.
Please, take action and express your anger at this recycled scheme, and urge your senators to do everything in their power to get drilling in the Arctic Refuge out of the budget, once and for all.
We need to make it crystal clear that allowing this provision to be slipped into the budget bill is just as unacceptable this year as it was last year. Take action today!
