Worst Attack on Arctic Refuge This Year

The fate of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, an incomparable wilderness and wildlife sanctuary, may be decided in the next two to three weeks. In early March, oil industry allies in the House and Senate are expected to attempt a sneaky backdoor maneuver to attach Arctic drilling to the upcoming federal budget bill.

Even if you have taken action on this already, we need you to do so again. Please tell your members of Congress to firmly oppose Arctic Refuge oil drilling in the budget bill.

And remember, you add so much impact to your letter by using your own words.

Thank you!

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: No Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

Within the next few weeks you and your colleagues will be voting on the 2006 budget bill. I strongly urge you to stop any and all attempts to insert Arctic Refuge oil drilling in the upcoming budget legislation.

The issue of oil drilling in the Arctic Refuge is too important to the American public and future generations to be snuck through in the budget bill in an attempt to circumvent the established process. If it is to be considered at all, it should be discussed and brought to a vote on its own merits.

There are some places that should be off-limits to oil drilling and industrial development, and the Arctic Refuge is one of them. We have a moral responsibility to save wild places like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for future generations. That's why our country has remained committed to its protection for nearly 50 years.

Drilling in the Refuge won't solve our energy problems. The best ways to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil are to conserve more, develop more fuel-efficient cars, and invest in renewable forms of energy like wind and solar power.

And it's misleading and untrue to say oil drilling won't harm the environment, since the result would be a sprawling industrial complex of drilling sites spread throughout one and a half million acres of critical wildlife habitat.

I'm counting on your leadership to keep the Arctic Refuge out of the Budget bill.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
February 22, 2005

Background Information

The budget bill is the greatest threat to the Arctic Refuge we will see this year. Drilling proponents know the issue is too controversial to use the normal legislative process to open the Refuge to oil drilling. Instead they hope to win the Refuge by attaching oil drilling revenues to the must-pass Budget bill which needs just a simple majority to pass.

NOT THIS PLACE
There are some places that should be off-limits to oil drilling and industrial development, and the Arctic Refuge is one of them. The harm to wildlife habitat for polar bear, caribou, and millions of migratory birds would be permanent and irreparable. We have a moral responsibility to save wild places like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for future generations. That’s why our country has remained committed to its protection for nearly 50 years.

NOT A SOLUTION TO ENERGY PROBLEMS
Drilling in the Refuge won’t solve our energy problems. It is not worth damaging America’s greatest national wildlife refuge for what the U.S. Geological Survey says would be far less oil than the U.S. consumes in a single
year.

It’s misleading and untrue to say oil drilling won’t harm the environment, since the result would be a sprawling industrial complex of drilling sites spread throughout one and a half million acres of critical wildlife habitat. Hundreds of miles of pipelines and roads, airstrips, power lines and pumping stations and housing for
workers would be needed, as well as tankers to transport this oil -- risking further oil spills in critical habitat. And even the oil companies admit none of the oil would reach the market for 10 years.

The best ways to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil are to conserve more, make cars more fuel efficient, and invest in renewable forms of energy like wind and solar.

PLEASE TAKE ACTION NOW!