[Mb-civic] Action! Arctic refuge under sneak attack

[ean at sbcglobal.net]

BUSHGREENWATCH
Tracking the Bush Administration's Environmental Misdeeds
http://www.bushgreenwatch.org
***************************************

February 24, 2005

BUSH TEAM READYING BACKDOOR ROUTE TO DRILL ARCTIC 
REFUGE 

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:
http://ga3.org/ct/f71g7oM1Zzw_/. 

### 

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"In times of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."
   ---   George Orwell


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