Save The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Just received this email from Meg at US PIRG. If you value our National Treasure and Wilderness areas, then you have to act now!

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You can also reach try the US PIRG.

Date: Wed, 27 Apr 2005 16:19:37 -0500
From: "Meg Stinchcomb, U.S. PIRG"
Subject: Big Vote on Arctic Refuge this Thursday!

This Thursday, both the U.S. House and Senate will vote whether to pass a national budget that allows for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Media reports indicate that the budget is also likely to contain major cuts in Medicaid funding that provides health care to children whose families cannot afford it.

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge The coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge is a unique, special place that helps define our nation’s natural character and beauty. There are no roads, trails, or structures there, and you must fly, boat, or walk to get there. It supports large populations of caribou, muskoxen, all three species of bear, wolves, Dall sheep, snow geese, and thousands of other migratory birds inhabit the Refuge. Protecting the Refuge is also a human rights issue - the Gwich’in people rely on the caribou of the Arctic Refuge for their food supply and their way of life and call the Coastal Plain of the Refuge “the sacred place where life began.”

It is this sacred place that Tom DeLay and the White House are proposing to destroy with thousands of miles of roads, drill pads, rigs, gravel mines, and a network of drilling facilities that would permanently ruin one of America’s last great wildernesses.

You only have to go a few dozen miles west of the Arctic Refuge to see what the impacts of oil drilling would be. In Prudhoe Bay, on the western side of the coastal plain, the oil industry has been drilling since the mid-1970’s – and the results have been disastrous. Just this week, an accident there caused the spill of more than 1.5 million cubic feet of natural gas and an unknown quantity of crude oil onto the fragile tundra. At Prudhoe Bay, this was just business as usual – there are more than 400 oil spills every year at Prudhoe Bay.

What are the benefits of drilling? Even the most generous studies estimate that Arctic Refuge oil will last only 2 years. And a recent study by investment firm Raymond Jones shows that drilling in the Arctic will have ZERO impact on oil prices. This is why the issue isn’t just about the Arctic, but about all pristine public lands in America currently protected from oil drilling. I think House Majority leader Tom Delay said it best when he referred to Arctic Drilling saying, “It’s about precedent.”

We need energy policy that solves the energy crisis—not a plan to destroy new wilderness areas every few years in a constant search for more oil.

Take Action!

Both Senator Mark Dayton and Senator Norm Coleman have always voted to protect the Arctic Refuge in the past, but Senator Coleman is under heavy pressure from Republican leadership to approve this budget. We need to thank both Senators for their past support and urge them not to break their promise to keep oil drills out of the Arctic Refuge! Take one of the following actions TODAY:

Call the Senators! Tell them to vote against any budget that includes authorization to drill in the Arctic Refuge in any form, including “Reconciliation Instructions.”

Senator Norm Coleman 202-224-5641

Senator Mark Dayton 202-224-3244

Ask 5 friends to call! Multiply your impact and show the Senators that energy issues are crucial to Minnesotans. Distribute the Senators’ phone numbers or forward this email and then let us know you took this action so we can estimate how many calls the Senators are receiving.

Write a letter to the editor! Senators read these as indicators of public opinion. Keep our politicians accountable to our Minnesotan values of protecting the environment and finding long-term solutions to the building energy crisis. Submit letters to the Pioneer Press, Star Tribune, or your neighborhood or college newspaper. Refer to the attached hand-out for tips.

Write a letter to the Senators—tell them why clean energy is important to you. Do you pay enormous amounts for gas each week? Is protecting pristine wilderness areas a priority to you? Are you worried about our reliance on foreign oil? Tell the Senators to stand up for higher fuel efficiency standards and find sustainable solutions to our energy crisis. Urge them not to prolong the problem by destroying our protected land. And remind them to vote against the budget this Thursday. Send a copy of the letter to each Senator at:


Senator Norm Coleman

320 Senate Hart Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Fax: 202-224-1152


Senator Mark Dayton

SR-123, Russell Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510

Fax: 202-228-2186

Thanks for your involvement. Together, we can call on our Senators to stand strong on protecting the Arctic Refuge and pursue a common-sense, sustainable energy policy!