Don't let veil of war lead to destruction of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge!

Urgent message from The Wilderness Society:

WildAlert for Tuesday, March 18, 2003
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This is an urgent request for your phone calls and
faxes to the Senate to protect the Arctic Refuge. Last
week the Senate passed a budget resolution that explicitly
instructs the Energy Committee to open the Arctic Refuge
to oil drilling in order to raise revenues.

There will be an amendment offered on the floor to
strike the Arctic provisions -- that vote is expected
tomorrow. We have confidence that we can once again
prevail in the Senate, but we cannot afford to take
any vote for granted. Swing Senators are being subjected
to extreme pressure from drilling proponents, led by
Sen. Ted Stevens (R, AK) who is the powerful chair
of the Appropriations Committee. Conservationists are
pushing back just as hard.

Phone calls are urgently needed!
You can take action by calling both your senators.
We've provided talking points for you, below. Capitol
Switchboard: 202-224-3121

You can also hit the reply button and send our letter
below, or go to our web site and edit the letter we
have for you there:
http://ga1.org/campaign/budres_tws

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BACKGROUND
Last week, both the House and Senate passed Budget
Resolutions, which provide guidance for committees
to prepare their spending plans for the coming year.


In the House, the resolution itself did not mention
drilling in the Refuge, but it did call on the House
Resources Committee (chaired by Richard Pombo) to find
savings on the order of $1.2 billion. Given that,
there is little doubt that given that opening, Rep.
Pombo will try to open the Refuge through the Budget
Reconciliation process. The resolution will come to
the House floor later this week (probably Thursday)
and there is a growing effort among House moderates
to try to change or kill the resolution, by using their
opposition to the President's tax cuts as leverage.
It is not clear what the outcome of that movement will
be.

Taken together, these Resolutions pose a grave threat
to the Arctic, since they set the stage for Budget
Reconciliation, which can pass the Senate with a simple
majority, and cannot be filibustered. Clearly, the
current preoccupation with impending war makes making
our message heard that much more difficult, but we
are marshalling all the resources at our disposal to
counter this assault.

The rolling tundra of the Arctic Refuge coastal plain
with the snow-capped Brooks Range in the background
is a breathtaking site to behold. The Refuge is prized
world over for its wildness, beauty, and the incomparable
habitat it provides to arctic wildlife, including wolves,
grizzlies, caribou and millions of migrating birds.
It is also the subject of an intense lobbying campaign
by the oil industry.

Oil exploration and drilling in the Arctic will ruin
one of our last great wild places, for what the US
Geological Survey concedes is less oil than the US
uses in six months, and which wouldn't get here for
ten years or more. Moreover, The Energy Information
Administration has concluded that drilling in the Refuge
would only reduce American oil imports from a projected
62% of our total oil supply to 60% at peak production
in 2020.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Phone calls are most important at this time. Please
use the talking points below when you call.

If you cannot call, please go to our web site to take
action or send your own letter to your senators (sample
below). Senate Directory: http://ga1.org/ct/57zLMaK1311f/

TALKING POINTS:
When you call a congressional office, you simply tell
the person who answers the phone that you'd like to
provide your Senator or Representative your opinion
about the Budget bill. That person will take a message
or in some instances that person may be keeping a tally
of phone calls. Please express these major points:

1. The Arctic Refuge is an incomparable wilderness
and important wildlife habitat;
2. Oil development will do little for American energy
security;
3. Please ask the Senator to support the amendment
to strike the Arctic Refuge oil drilling provision
from the Budget bill.

Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121

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SAMPLE LETTER:
Dear Senator:
I am very concerned about the back-door schemes underway
to slip a proposal to drill in the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge into the budget resolution. Oil drilling
in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was soundly
defeated by a bipartisan majority of the US Senate
last spring. That vote reflected the solid majority
of the American public that strongly supports protecting
the Arctic Refuge, and the Senate should stay the course
and reject this sneak attack to drill the Arctic now.

Back-door schemes don't change the basic facts: drilling
in the Arctic will ruin one of our last great wild
places, and will do nothing to increase national security
or reduce our dependence on imported oil. The US Geological
Survey concedes the Refuge likely holds less oil than
the US uses in six months, and it wouldn't reach consumers
for ten years or more. Moreover, The Energy Information
Administration has concluded that drilling in the Refuge
would only reduce American oil imports from a projected
62% of our total oil supply to 60% at peak production
in 2020.

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has long been recognized
as a place too special to sacrifice for short-term
gain. For more than thirty years the oil industry has
tried to open it to development. Thankfully, Senators
throughout the past three decades have refused to yield
to the industry's arguments, despite international
wars, rising gas prices and budget deficits. I look
to you to for such far-sighted leadership. I urge you
to support the amendment to strike the Arctic Refuge
oil drilling from the Budget bill.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

You can take action on this alert either via email
(please see directions below) or via the web at:
http://ga1.org/campaign/budres_tws/ink3i5zl7ee7

Visit the web address below to tell your friends about
this.
http://ga1.org/campaign/budres_tws/forward/ink3i5zl7ee7

We encourage you to take action by March 24, 2003

Ask Senators to Keep Arctic Out of Budget Resolution

INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPOND VIA THE WEB:
If you have access to a web browser, you can take action
on this alert by going to the following URL:

http://ga1.org/campaign/budres_tws/ink3i5zl7ee7

INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPOND VIA EMAIL:
Just choose the "reply to sender" option on your email
program.

Your letter will be addressed and sent to:
Your Senators

----THIS LETTER WILL BE SENT IN YOUR NAME----
Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],

I am very concerned about the back-door schemes underfoot
to slip a proposal to drill in the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge into the budget resolution.

Oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
was soundly defeated by a bipartisan majority of the
US Senate last spring. That vote reflected the solid
majority of the American public that strongly supports
protecting the Arctic Refuge, and the Senate should
stay the course and reject this sneak attack to drill
the Arctic now.

Back-door schemes don't change the basic facts: drilling
in the Arctic will ruin one of our last great wild
places, for what the US Geological Survey concedes
is less oil than the US uses in six months, and which
wouldn't get here for ten years or more.

Moreover, The Energy Information Administration has
concluded that drilling in the Refuge would only reduce
American oil imports from a projected 62% of our total
oil supply to 60% at peak production in 2020.

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has long been recognized
as a place too special to sacrifice for short-term
gain. For more than thirty years the oil industry has
tried to open it to development. Thankfully, Senators
throughout the past three decades have refused to yield
to the industry's arguments, despite international
wars, rising gas prices and budget deficits.

I look to you to for such far-sighted leadership. I
urge you to support the amendment to strike the Arctic
Refuge oil drilling from the Budget bill.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.


----END OF LETTER TO BE SENT----

Sincerely,
[Your Name]

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