Having been thwarted repeatedly in its effort to open Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to drilling for oil, the Bush Administration and its Congressional leadership have come up with a plan for a sneak attack on the issue.
Rather than holding a straightforward vote on the Senate floor, where strong public opposition halted drilling in the past few years, House and Senate members are quietly planning instead to attach the drilling measure to upcoming budget legislation, where it would be all but impossible to stop (budget bills are exempt from filibuster or extended debate).
This past Tuesday, SaveOurEnvironment.org, a national coalition for the environment, said the planned maneuver demonstrates that "proponents of drilling know they cannot pass this through the normal legislative process, so they are resorting to a procedural tactic to prohibit open and honest debate." [1]
"Not only does this type of backdoor maneuver endanger the Arctic Refuge, its wilderness and wildlife, it also poses a genuine threat to the integrity of our democratic process," said Bill Meadows, president of the Wilderness Society. The society reported that a recent bipartisan national survey found Americans oppose drilling in the refuge by a margin of 53 to 35.
The refuge's 1.5 million-acre coastal plain--where drilling would take place--is described as the "biological heart" of the refuge by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It is home to some 250 animal species, including caribou, polar bears, grizzlies, musk oxen, wolves, and millions of migratory birds.
Despite the fact that it would take up to 10 years for any ANWR oil to reach the market, the Bush Administration and its allies depict such drilling as a way to ease America's current energy crisis.
At the same time they refuse to consider such immediate answers as an increase of only one mile-per-gallon in automobile fuel efficiency standards, an easily attainable goal that would save a half-million barrels of oil per day.
Also shunned are such effective--and painless--steps as energy efficiency, energy conservation, and greatly increased support for alternatives such as wind power and solar energy.
Environmental and conservation organizations are urging the public to oppose the use of budget measures to achieve drilling in ANWR.
###
TAKE ACTION
Contact members of Congress through the Wilderness Society.
###
SOURCES:
[1] SaveOurEnvironment.org Alert, Feb. 22, 2005.
