[BCNnet] ANWR - Almost Lost

[Donald R. Dann]

Dear BCN friend of conservation;

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was almost lost to the drill bit on
Tuesday.  Following are 2 items, one from National Wildlife Federation by
way of Republicans for Environmental Protection, the other one I modified
from a letter from National Resources Defense Council.  The first explains
what happened in the Senate; the second why drilling in the Arctic is no
solution, and other suggests the direction for a sensible energy effort,
particularly in light of our national tragedy.  And remember, ANWR is
America's last great wilderness, a pristine home to polar bears, musk oxen,
and more than 180 species of birds.

Senator Peter Fitzgerald is getting huge pressure from the White House, Big
Oil, and the Teamsters, and our letters are essential to overcome it.  Even
if you have written him, please write again.  Just a single handwritten
line: "Please oppose drilling in ANWR" and send it to 555 Dirksen Senate
Office Building, Washington, DC 20510.  Thanks so much,

Donald R. Dann

Donald R. Dann
Highland Park/Lake County
donniebird@yahoo.com


Sept. 26, 2001, from National Wildlife Federation

Folks,
You all are doing a tremendous job getting calls and emails into the Senate.
Thank you!  You have been clogging up the phone lines in support of the
Arctic.  Please keep it up!  And please send any feedback you get from the
offices to me.
Here's the latest:   The Defense Authorization bill, S.1438, was pulled from
the Senate floor last night around 7PM.  Although the bill managers tried to
reach agreement on limiting debate and amendments, Senator Inhofe refused to
withdraw his Energy/Drilling amendment.  So Senator Daschle went to the
Senate floor, stated that almost everyone agreed on a streamlined bill, but
because one person did not, he was taking the bill off the floor.  He also
said he wanted an energy bill just as much as everyone else but the Defense
bill was not the vehicle to use to get one.
TIMING:  Due to Yom Kippur, the Senate will have votes until 2PM today.
They will be out tomorrow.  They will likely not take up the Defense bill
again until Monday, 10/1.  The bill managers continue to try to reach
agreement but the bill is currently too contentious to bring up.  The Inhofe
drill amendment is still on the docket for the Defense Authorization bill.
There is a slim chance that Daschle will shelf the bill if he cannot get
agreement to keep it clean.  He may also put the Defense Authorization bill
into another bill that is moving through the Senate.
ACTION:  Because Inhofe is holding firm, he will likely keep trying to
attach a drilling provision to anything that moves.  This means we need to
keep grasstop and grassroots calls into the Senate.  Calls to Daschle and
Bingaman are critical to thank them for pulling the bill and to urge them to
keep the Defense bill and any others free of Arctic drilling.
The challenge we are facing is that this is the time of the year where our
opponents will try to attach bad things to any bill that moves and we must
keep calls into the Hill against them.  This means that this type of fire
drill can come up again and again at any time.  We must remain nimble to
keep up the pressure on the Senate.
The good news is that our advocacy is working.  Our calls and letters
stopped Murkowski from offering an Arctic amendment.  Our calls and letters
convinced Senator Daschle to pull the Defense bill rather than risk the
Arctic.  So we must continue to weigh in.  A critical point to make is that
it is inappropriate to bring this issue into debate on other bills.  It
should be thoroughly debated during consideration of the energy bill.
We are asking all of our activists to call, send a letter and/or fax to each
of their senators, urging them to oppose any amendment that tries to open
the Arctic up.  We also need folks to act as phone trees to spread the word
and to get their members and others to do the same.
CONGRESSIONAL TIMING:  Congress must pass thirteen spending bills before
they adjourn (target adjournment is Oct 31).  They have passed five.  So
they have a lot of work before them.  If Congress gets the bulk of the bills
done, they could put the last 2 or 3 into a bill that keeps the government
programs funded until next year then come back and finish up.
Other things on the horizon are the Defense Authorization bill and possibly
an economic stimulus package.  These two vehicles are targets for Arctic
drilling amendments.  In addition, any of the spending bills are vulnerable.
Our message remains that the Arctic is too wild to waste.  We should not
open the Arctic.  It should be fully debated within an energy bill debate.
Opening the Arctic will not solve any energy problems as it will take ten
years to get any oil; the amount will be minimal; and there is no
requirement that domestically produced oil must stay in our country.



    OUR NATIONAL TRAGEDY

In the aftermath of the horrific events of September 11, all of us must join
together in shaping a strong response to terrorism.   Of course we must take
the appropriate political and military steps and develop the best possible
measures for public safety.  But as environmentalists, the single most
important thing we can do to ensure America's national security is to
advocate policies that will immediately begin to reduce our nation's
dependence on oil, whether imported or domestic.
America's unchecked consumption of oil has become a national Achilles heel.
It constrains our military options in the face of terror. It leaves our
economy dangerously vulnerable to price shocks. It invites environmental
degradation, ecological disasters, and potentially catastrophic climate
change.
In the days ahead we are sure to hear some in Washington call for a massive
increase in domestic oil drilling in order to achieve national security.
They ignore one crucial fact: our nation simply doesn't have enough oil
reserves to drill our way to self-sufficiency or to affect oil prices, which
are set on the world market. We control only 3 percent of the world's oil
reserves-a mere drop in the bucket-but we consume a staggering 25 percent of
the world's oil supply.
Even if we developed every potential oil deposit in America- including the
Arctic Wildlife Refuge, our oil consumption from imports would drop, at
most, from 57% to 50%, but we'd still be importing oil, still be paying
worldwide prices for domestic oil, and still be leaving ourselves vulnerable
to supply disruptions.
But there is an alternative.  We can reduce our out-of-control appetite for
fossil fuels. We can rely on smarter and cleaner ways to power our economy.
Energy efficiency and alternative energy technologies can save billions of
barrels of oil, while benefiting our health, our pocketbooks and our
environment.
We must advocate an energy future that reduces this dangerous addiction to
oil and increases our reliance on cleaner alternatives spawned by American
ingenuity. That is our very best hope-our only hope -- for getting us on a
self-reliant energy path toward lasting national and environmental security.




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