|
| ||||
|
Oppose Oil Drilling in the Take action! The coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is wilderness, and it should be protected as wilderness, forever. The Arctic Refuge is profoundly sacred to the Gwich’in, and should be respected and protected. The House has already passed the legislation, and the Senate is considering it now. The Vote is to take place very soon, so you must inform them NOW how you feel about Arctic drilling. Call your Senator and Congressional Representative today. Let them know that drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a bad idea and it is not the way to solve America's need for energy. Tell your elected officials we want renewable energy, not oil drilling in the Arctic Reserve. Call your Senators and Congresspersons 202-224-3121 Gwich’in Steering Committee fact sheet For more information, contact:
List of recommended links http://www.alaska.net/%7Egwichin/index.html http://www.fiddlechicks.com/oldcrow/bou.html Links to Gwich’in People Cultural Life http://wildlifefotofilm.de/gwichin.html http://www.oldcrow.ca/caribou.htm http://www.cariboucommons.com/ Photo gallery of Porcupine Caribou http://collections.ic.gc.ca/old_crow/caribou/caribou.html
|
Support the Gwich’in and save the Caribou and one of the last true wilderness areas in the country George W. Bush and the oil industry are now pushing harder than ever to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling. It is urgent that everyone contact their elected officials in Washington D.C. to demand they oppose this reckless plan that threatens the Arctic Refuge and sacred Gwich’in land. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was established by President Eisenhower in 1960 and expanded by President Carter to 19 million acres. U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service has called the coastal plain the "biological heart of the refuge," where the 129,000-strong Porcupine Caribou herd goes each summer to give birth to calve. The refuge is also home to musk oxen, Dall sheep, gray wolves, brown, black and polar bears and millions of migratory birds. The people of the Gwich'in Nation have had a long and sacred relationship with the wildlife of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The culture of the Gwich'in Nation, a population of about 7,000 people, is based upon the Porcupine Caribou Herd. To the Gwich'in, the coastal plain is known as "The Sacred Place Where Life Begins." For thousands of years their ancestors relied upon the Porcupine River Caribou Herd to meet their subsistence needs, and today the caribou is still vital for food, clothing, tools, and are a source of respect and spiritual guidance for the Gwich'in. House Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo, the Tracy Republican who is the House's most vocal advocate for drilling in the refuge, is pushing a new energy bill that includes provisions to open the refuge to drilling. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, will try to pass the drilling provision through budget reconciliation legislation, which can't be filibustered and requires only a simple majority of 51 votes to pass. Instead of having a full and open debate and vote on the fate of the Arctic Refuge, pro-drilling Republicans will include projected revenues from Arctic drilling in the federal budget. If that budget passes, then Congress will almost certainly approve the actual oil development. Facts about proposed oil drilling in the Arctic Refuge Exploration would devastate a majestic landscape filled with caribou and migratory birds, as airstrips, roads, pipelines and industrial facilities will stretch across the coastal plain. The U.S. Geological Survey and oil company executives have conceded that the refuge contains only six months' worth of oil, and that it would not be available for a decade. Drilling in the refuge would do little to reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil. Despite the fact that drilling in the Refuge has twice been rejected by bipartisan majorities in the Senate, and that a majority of the American public does not support it, the Bush administration continues to push this unpopular initiative. Take Action! |
