[at-l] ANWR / COF info

[Snodrog5@aol.com (Snodrog5@aol.com)]

Circle of Life was founded by Julia Butterfly in 1999 as an offshoot of her=20
famous Luna Tree Sit. Click the link for a wonderful photo of Butterfly and=20
Luna :O) <A HREF=3D"http://www.circleoflifefoundation.org/";>Welcome to The C=
ircle of Life Foundation</A>=20
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Here's the latest on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (thanks to Dana=20
Stolzman, former project director of COL and a fantastic environmental=20
activist in Humboldt County, CA)=20

Keep in mind, faxes and letters are counted more heavily than calls and=20
emails-- but calls and emails are great too! =A0We've included a listing of=20
contact information for the current Senate, below, too. =A0We will be postin=
g=20
this list on our website, www.circleoflifefoundation.org soon. =A0=A0Thanks=20=
for=20
your activism around this crucial issue.


WRITE OR CALL YOUR SENATORS TO SAVE THE ARCTIC REFUGE:=20

Thank you for your continued interest in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge=
.=20
The Senate will debate the issue of drilling for oil in the Refuge this=20
legislative session. This is a vital time to write, email, fax or phone your=
=20
Senators.=20
Please remember that letters and faxes count more than calls and email=20
messages.=20

To send an e-mail or to print a letter to fax, visit the Alaska=20
Wilderness League at www.alaskawild.org/action.html. =A0When you get to=20
this site, pick the option to send an e-mail to your Senators asking=20
them to support the Arctic Refuge. =A0You will be able to edit the letter=20
however you wish. You can also add in any of the talking points below. After=
=20
you do this, either send it directly via email, or print it and fax it.=20

Talking Points for e-mails and faxes:=20

Drilling the Arctic Refuge will not help address America's energy needs:=20

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, it would take at least a=20
decade to tap any oil from the refuge and even then, the mean estimate=20
of economically recoverable oil amounts to just 3.2 billion barrels=20
or less than what the U.S. consumes in six months. =A0Even optimistic=20
estimates for refuge oil would never meet more than 2% of our oil needs.=20

By increasing the fuel efficiency of our cars and trucks by just=20
3 miles per gallon, we can save more than 1 million barrels of oil a day=20
or five times the amount of oil the refuge might produce. =A0This would do=20
far more to clean the air, reduce prices for consumers, and make us less=20
dependent on imported oil.=20
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0
95% of Alaska's Arctic coastal lands are already available for=20
oil exploration or development. =A0These lands will be pumping oil and gas=20
for at least the next three decades without drilling the Arctic Refuge.=20

Drilling will risk our nation's largest and wildest natural treasures:=20

The Arctic Refuge is home to a greater abundance and more diverse=20
wildlife than any protected area in the circumpolar north. =A0The Coastal=20
Plain is called America's Serengeti because it is home=20
to thousands of calving caribou, denning polar bears, roaming grizzlies,=20
rare musk oxen, and millions of migratory birds. =A0

>From America's northernmost forest, to the highest peaks and=20
glaciers of the Brooks Range, to the rolling tundra of the Coastal=20
Plain, no other conservation unit protects a complete range of arctic=20
and sub-arctic lands.=20

Drilling will destroy the heart and habitat that supports an ancient and=20
vital culture of the Gwich'in or Caribou People:=20

The Gwich'in Athabaskan people, over 7000 strong, of northeast Alaska=20
and Northwest Canada oppose drilling in the Arctic Refuge because of threats=
=20
to their subsistence way of life and sacred beliefs. =A0The National Congres=
s=20
of=20
American Indians, Native American Rights Fund, Episcopal Church, Lutheran=20
Church,=20
United Methodist Church, the Union of Hebrew Congregations and the=20
Canadian Government support the Gwich'in and oppose drilling.=20

Oil development in Alaska has caused enough environmental damage:=20

Prudhoe Bay and 13 other producing oil fields in the Alaskan=20
Arctic span an area larger than the state of Rhode Island. =A0The industry=20
is responsible for over 400 oil spills a year, 55 contaminated waste sites,=20
and twice the nitrogen oxide air pollution as Washington, D.C.=20


Drilling the refuge would impact over a million acres, not 2,000 acres:=20

The House bill opens the entire 1.5 million acre coastal plain=20
of the Arctic Refuge to oil and gas leasing and exploration. =A0An amendment=
,=20
adopted by the House, that allegedly limited to scope of oil development to=20
2,000-acres actually does nothing of the sort. Exempted from the acreage=20
total=20
are seismic and exploratory drilling activities, the construction of ice or=20=
=A0
permanent roads, gravel mines, and pipelines. =A0=A0


Dispelling the Jobs Myth:=20

We need real, clean jobs, for American workers, not fictitious ones.=20
Proponents of=20
drilling cite a 1990 American Petroleum Institute (API) funded study=20
that claims that drilling the Arctic Refuge will create over 700,000 new=20
jobs. =A0In fact, studies by the respected independent labor economists,=20
like Dean Baker of the Center of Economic and Policy Research, say the=20
correct total is between 0 and 47,000 job. We can create many times more job=
s=20
by building a new Alaska natural gas pipeline along an existing right of way=
=20
corridor=20
and by investing in energy efficiency technologies, alternative fuels, and=20
renewable energy sources. =A0According to a study by the Tellus Institute fo=
r=20
the=20
World Wildlife Fund, more than a million new jobs would be created from=20
implementing such a sound policy.=20

Drilling the Arctic Refuge will destroy its untouched wilderness,=20
drain its scare supplies of fresh water, displace and lead to declines=20
in wildlife populations, pollute the air, and threaten the cultures of=20
native peoples.=20
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I've snipped off the Senate directory. If you need to know an address, or=20
would like the whole list, just drop me a line.
TJ




--- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts ---
multipart/alternative
  text/plain (text body -- kept)
  text/html
---