From the Alaska Wilderness League (http://www.alaskawild.org):
The comment period for ConocoPhillips’ Willow is a mess. The climate impacts are terrible enough, but news just broke highlighting how the administration has mistreated the community that would be most impacted by the drilling and pollution.
Submit a public comment at https://secure.alaskawild.org/a/willowjulycomment and demand the Bureau of Land Management reject the Willow project before the comment period ends on August 29.
“The government told an Alaska Native village it would have more time to give feedback[…] Then it reversed course.”
The first Willow hearing on Monday started with quick comment denying residents’ closest to the drilling site request for an extension to complete their summer subsistence activities. While it took BLM over three weeks to address this request by residents and members of Congress, the announcement was even more upsetting because BLM had promised an extension just 72 hours earlier.
Mayor of the community Rosemary Ahtuangaruak explained to reporters, “[T]he reversal created substantial logistical problems for Nuiqsut[…] August is also one of the busiest seasons for subsistence harvesting and many residents are already out moose and caribou hunting, […] and getting ready for the fall whale hunt.”
It is deeply disturbing that the people closest to the Willow project have to choose between participating in seasonal subsistence activities or this rushed comment period that will determine the fate of the lands and waters surrounding their community. There is no reason to rush the Willow decision… especially at the expense of local input.
The rush also makes no sense when you consider that ¾ of the public comments in the first hearing were opposed to drilling. People want clean air and water. And they want thriving wildlife that will sustain their communities.
And, people across the country want climate action.
If anything, we must rush to find climate SOLUTIONS, not additional PROBLEMS.
We must not open more Arctic lands to drilling if we want to stop our unfolding climate disaster. We owe it to the next generation to keep Arctic oil in the ground and transition to clean energy now. We owe the oil companies nothing – they’ve taken advantage of our public lands, our tax dollars and our planet long enough.
P.S. Read the Grist article here and then take action!
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