SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
A polar bear keeps close to her young along the Beaufort Sea coast in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. (Photo: Susanne Miller/USFWS/Flickr)
Alaska Senator Denounced for 'Deplorable' Attempt to Force Drilling in Arctic Wildlife Refuge
Environmentalists sharply rebuked Sen. Lisa Murkowski's (R-Alaska) proposal to force the sale of drilling rights contracts for public land in Alaska
Nov 09, 2017
Environmentalists denounced as "deplorable," "immoral," and "toxic" a move by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) to force drilling for oil and natural gas on federally protected public lands in Alaska.
"This toxic legislation would turn vital wildlife habitat into an oil field. It's pure politics and bad science."
--Jamie Rappaport Clark, Defenders of Wildlife
After Senate Republicans--and one Democrat--last month thwarted efforts by a group of Democratic senators and conservationists to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) from the fossil fuel industry, Murkowski proposed legislation on Wednesday that would require the Interior Department to approve at least two sales for drilling rights leases within a decade. And because the measure is part of the budget resolution process, it could pass by a simple majority.
While Murkowski--with support from Alaska's governor and other members of Congress--touted her legislation as "a tremendous opportunity" that would "put Alaska and the entire nation on a path toward greater prosperity," local and national environmentalists warned of the consequences of her proposal to open up 1.5 million acres of ANWR's coastal plain to drilling.
"What this bill would do is turn America's last great wilderness into a lost wilderness," said Adam Kolton, executive director of Alaska Wilderness League. "It would allow roads, pipelines, gravel mines, and well pads to be erected across the entire birthing grounds of the Coastal Plain, where caribou calve and where polar bear mothers den."
"It's deplorable that a backdoor budget maneuver is being used to ram Arctic drilling through without a full, fair and open debate," Kolton continued. "It's immoral that this bill would risk the subsistence culture of the Gwich'in for a fool's gold of exaggerated money and jobs. And it's wrong to pretend to offer a tax cut with one hand and rob our children and grandchildren of their rightful heritage with the other."
"This toxic legislation would turn vital wildlife habitat into an oil field. It's pure politics and bad science," said Jamie Rappaport Clark, president and CEO of Defenders of Wildlife. "With this proposal, Senator Murkowski's long-standing wish to shove aside polar bears, caribou, wolves, and environmental protections, and give away the Arctic refuge to the fossil fuel industry is a frightening step closer to reality. Despite Senator Murkowski's spin, industrializing the biological heart of the Arctic Refuge will never be compatible with protecting its world class wildlife values."
Although the possibility of ANWR drilling has been hotly debated in Washington for decades, the current discussions have been spurred by a budget requirement that would force the Senate Energy and Natural Gas Committee--which Murkowski chairs--to generate $1 billion in revenue over the next 10 years.
"Drilling in this sensitive ecological area remains as terrible an idea today as it was 12 years ago, when Congress blocked a similar effort," the Seattle Times argued in a recent editorial. "Congress should resist. This $1 billion is minuscule compared to the $1.5 trillion Republicans would add to the federal deficit with their tax-cut plan."
Critics--including Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), the top Democrat on the Senate energy committee who helped lead the failed effort to protect ANWR last month--condemned the legislation on Twitter:
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
alaskaarcticarctic national wildlife refuge (anwr)big oildefenders of wildlifeenvironmentpolar bearsrepublican partyus senatewolves
Environmentalists denounced as "deplorable," "immoral," and "toxic" a move by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) to force drilling for oil and natural gas on federally protected public lands in Alaska.
"This toxic legislation would turn vital wildlife habitat into an oil field. It's pure politics and bad science."
--Jamie Rappaport Clark, Defenders of Wildlife
After Senate Republicans--and one Democrat--last month thwarted efforts by a group of Democratic senators and conservationists to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) from the fossil fuel industry, Murkowski proposed legislation on Wednesday that would require the Interior Department to approve at least two sales for drilling rights leases within a decade. And because the measure is part of the budget resolution process, it could pass by a simple majority.
While Murkowski--with support from Alaska's governor and other members of Congress--touted her legislation as "a tremendous opportunity" that would "put Alaska and the entire nation on a path toward greater prosperity," local and national environmentalists warned of the consequences of her proposal to open up 1.5 million acres of ANWR's coastal plain to drilling.
"What this bill would do is turn America's last great wilderness into a lost wilderness," said Adam Kolton, executive director of Alaska Wilderness League. "It would allow roads, pipelines, gravel mines, and well pads to be erected across the entire birthing grounds of the Coastal Plain, where caribou calve and where polar bear mothers den."
"It's deplorable that a backdoor budget maneuver is being used to ram Arctic drilling through without a full, fair and open debate," Kolton continued. "It's immoral that this bill would risk the subsistence culture of the Gwich'in for a fool's gold of exaggerated money and jobs. And it's wrong to pretend to offer a tax cut with one hand and rob our children and grandchildren of their rightful heritage with the other."
"This toxic legislation would turn vital wildlife habitat into an oil field. It's pure politics and bad science," said Jamie Rappaport Clark, president and CEO of Defenders of Wildlife. "With this proposal, Senator Murkowski's long-standing wish to shove aside polar bears, caribou, wolves, and environmental protections, and give away the Arctic refuge to the fossil fuel industry is a frightening step closer to reality. Despite Senator Murkowski's spin, industrializing the biological heart of the Arctic Refuge will never be compatible with protecting its world class wildlife values."
Although the possibility of ANWR drilling has been hotly debated in Washington for decades, the current discussions have been spurred by a budget requirement that would force the Senate Energy and Natural Gas Committee--which Murkowski chairs--to generate $1 billion in revenue over the next 10 years.
"Drilling in this sensitive ecological area remains as terrible an idea today as it was 12 years ago, when Congress blocked a similar effort," the Seattle Times argued in a recent editorial. "Congress should resist. This $1 billion is minuscule compared to the $1.5 trillion Republicans would add to the federal deficit with their tax-cut plan."
Critics--including Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), the top Democrat on the Senate energy committee who helped lead the failed effort to protect ANWR last month--condemned the legislation on Twitter:
Environmentalists denounced as "deplorable," "immoral," and "toxic" a move by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) to force drilling for oil and natural gas on federally protected public lands in Alaska.
"This toxic legislation would turn vital wildlife habitat into an oil field. It's pure politics and bad science."
--Jamie Rappaport Clark, Defenders of Wildlife
After Senate Republicans--and one Democrat--last month thwarted efforts by a group of Democratic senators and conservationists to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) from the fossil fuel industry, Murkowski proposed legislation on Wednesday that would require the Interior Department to approve at least two sales for drilling rights leases within a decade. And because the measure is part of the budget resolution process, it could pass by a simple majority.
While Murkowski--with support from Alaska's governor and other members of Congress--touted her legislation as "a tremendous opportunity" that would "put Alaska and the entire nation on a path toward greater prosperity," local and national environmentalists warned of the consequences of her proposal to open up 1.5 million acres of ANWR's coastal plain to drilling.
"What this bill would do is turn America's last great wilderness into a lost wilderness," said Adam Kolton, executive director of Alaska Wilderness League. "It would allow roads, pipelines, gravel mines, and well pads to be erected across the entire birthing grounds of the Coastal Plain, where caribou calve and where polar bear mothers den."
"It's deplorable that a backdoor budget maneuver is being used to ram Arctic drilling through without a full, fair and open debate," Kolton continued. "It's immoral that this bill would risk the subsistence culture of the Gwich'in for a fool's gold of exaggerated money and jobs. And it's wrong to pretend to offer a tax cut with one hand and rob our children and grandchildren of their rightful heritage with the other."
"This toxic legislation would turn vital wildlife habitat into an oil field. It's pure politics and bad science," said Jamie Rappaport Clark, president and CEO of Defenders of Wildlife. "With this proposal, Senator Murkowski's long-standing wish to shove aside polar bears, caribou, wolves, and environmental protections, and give away the Arctic refuge to the fossil fuel industry is a frightening step closer to reality. Despite Senator Murkowski's spin, industrializing the biological heart of the Arctic Refuge will never be compatible with protecting its world class wildlife values."
Although the possibility of ANWR drilling has been hotly debated in Washington for decades, the current discussions have been spurred by a budget requirement that would force the Senate Energy and Natural Gas Committee--which Murkowski chairs--to generate $1 billion in revenue over the next 10 years.
"Drilling in this sensitive ecological area remains as terrible an idea today as it was 12 years ago, when Congress blocked a similar effort," the Seattle Times argued in a recent editorial. "Congress should resist. This $1 billion is minuscule compared to the $1.5 trillion Republicans would add to the federal deficit with their tax-cut plan."
Critics--including Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), the top Democrat on the Senate energy committee who helped lead the failed effort to protect ANWR last month--condemned the legislation on Twitter:
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.