A brewing disaster in Alaska's Arctic
Bill Meadows President, Wilderness Society
Whether it’s by land or by sea, Big Oil is aggressively trying to drill in or near the fragile and wildlife-rich regions of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and its surrounding areas.
Shell has launched a no-holds-barred lobbying campaign to drill in the frigid ocean waters as little as 16 miles from the Refuge’s fragile and pristine shoreline. They are so confident of success that, as you read this, an armada of drilling ships and heavy machinery is being readied to travel to the region.
As if the Shell deal weren’t bad enough, the House Committee on Natural Resources meets next week with an eye to permitting oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge itself.
America has said no to drilling in the Arctic Refuge time and again. Oil exploration brings with it massive industrial infrastructure, including pipelines, rigs, roads, heavy machinery, and airstrips, and the near certainty of oil spills of one size or another. At stake is one of America’s most magnificent and unspoiled landscapes, a world teeming with caribou, grizzlies, wolves, wolverines, foxes and polar bears. Offshore, the oceans are home to endangered bowhead and fin whales, beluga, seals and sea lions, and walruses.
The Wilderness Society has used smart, effective strategies to keep the Arctic Refuge free of oil development — and we’ve been successful for more than a quarter century. We work on the ground in Alaska, with the White House, and on Capitol Hill — a three-pronged effort to keep the Arctic Refuge intact.
Join us — by donating today to our urgent campaign to protect our natural heritage. For ourselves, for our children and for our country’s Arctic residents.
Drilling in or near the Arctic Refuge is playing Russian roulette with some of our most fragile wild lands.
Make an emergency donation to The Wilderness Society today.
Sincerely,
Bill Meadows
President, Wilderness Society
action@tws.org