NEWS ARCHIVE - JANUARY 2005

Defending the Arctic

For Years, the oil industry has been salivating over the prospect of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the protected home of polar and grizzly bears, caribou, wolves, and snow geese. The US Senate, recognizing the value of preserving America's Serengeti Plain of the North, has rejected efforts to open it to drilling rigs…

The industry argues that drilling facilities would cover "just" 2,000 acres. But this ignores all the roads, pipelines, gravel mines, and other infrastructure required for the project. That is like saying a corporate boardroom table occupies just the 4 square inches the table legs cover. In a 2003 study, the National Academy of Sciences found that the negative effects of oil development on wildlife and the environment extend far beyond the immediate footprint of drilling operations.

Americans, most of whom will never set foot in the refuge, understand what is at stake and consistently say no to refuge drilling in opinion polls… The Senate should show the same good sense.

Read the Boston Globe article

North Slope Oil Well Blowout Unreported, Whistleblower Says

A state investigator from Fairbanks is in Anchorage tonight looking into allegations of a fairly serious incident on the North Slope.

An oil company whistleblower is claiming that there was an unreported blowout on the Slope last month, an uncontrolled gush of oil, drilling mud and gas that could have resulted in a fire.

That whistleblower says he has the pictures to prove it.

Read more at KTUU.com 

Backdoor Scheme to Open the Arctic Refuge

For more than 20 years, pro-drilling forces in Congress have tried to pass legislation to open the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, and for more than 20 years they have failed to muster enough votes to do so. Today, drilling proponents think they have found the perfect backdoor scheme to pass their legislation to allow drilling: they will attempt to put Arctic drilling in the federal budget, which is immune to floor debate and to amendment. Using the budget process to achieve a major policy change is a highly sneaky approach for any legislation, especially one as controversial as drilling in the Arctic Refuge. Despite the fact that there is bipartisan support in Congress for protecting the Arctic Refuge, and even though polls have consistently shown that a majority of the American public are opposed to drilling in the Refuge, drilling advocates are pushing forward with their plans to use devious tactics to get their oil rigs in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Posted by Defenders Staff

Conoco Leaves Lobbying Group Seeking to Open Arctic Refuge

ConocoPhillips, the largest oil producer on Alaska's North Slope, said it has pulled out of the main lobbying group that has been pushing to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. The move comes two years after BP PLC, the second-largest operator, also pulled out of the Arctic Power lobbying group and raises questions about how eager big oil companies are for Congress to open the refuge to drilling… While ConocoPhillips's withdrawal isn't likely to itself stop efforts to open the refuge, it gives fresh ammunition to critics of the proposal. Environmental groups and others have argued that drilling would damage the wilderness, and efforts to drill in the refuge have been stalled.

Read the Wall Street Journal article

Opinion – No Drilling in the Arctic Refuge 

Why is Governor Frank Murkowski so anxious to exploit Alaska's oil? Frank should be protecting our oil for Alaska's future. Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is the crown jewel of America s refuge system. The 1980 law that created the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge also closed 1.5 million acres of the coastal plain to gas and oil exploration unless specifically authorized by Congress. 

Read the Ketchikan's SITNews article

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