From PennEnvironment (http://www.pennenvironment.org):
Right now, we have the chance to stop ConocoPhillips from drilling in 7 million acres of the pristine Western Arctic in Alaska.1
Every creek and cranny in this untouched region of the Arctic hosts natural magic: Porcupine caribou, migratory birds, polar bears and more need the Western Arctic for survival.
But if new oil rigs roll in, those creatures will see dirtier air, polluted waters and devastating habitat destruction.
Go to https://pennenvironment.webaction.org/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=49092 to call on the Biden administration to restore protections for 7 million acres of the Western Arctic in Alaska.
Standing near the shore of the coastal region, you can watch polar bears play, diving into the frigid water to cool off after too much horsing around.
Further inland, these pristine 7 million acres are part of the ancestral calving grounds for the Porcupine caribou herd, who rely on the coastal lands for calving, for foraging and to escape those pesky summer insects.2
In the skies above, migratory birds — songbirds and shorebirds alike — fly through the fresh air, resting on the untouched grounds.
But if ConocoPhillips’ “Willow Project” — an $8 billion drilling plan — proceeds, oil rigs and trucks could blacken the waters polar bears swim through, rupture the ground caribou walk on, and pollute the air migratory birds fly through.3
That’s why we want you to help protect these precious 7 million acres from destruction. Take action to stop the Willow Project today.
When the Western Arctic is drilled, we sacrifice the precious habitat for vulnerable wildlife and some of the last truly wild lands in our country.
And all for what? So we can pump out 8.8 billion barrels of oil that will be burned, polluting our skies and heating our climate, making conditions even more dire for the wildlife that thrive in the tundra ecosystem of the Western Arctic?4
The Biden administration is accepting public comments on this project for just a few more days. As this comment period comes to a close, let’s stop this senseless project and protect the vulnerable 7 million acres of the Western Arctic once and for all.
Add your public comment today.
1. Elwood Brehmer, “Biden administration plans return to Obama-era protections for National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska,” Anchorage Daily News, January 10, 2022.
2. Heather E. Johnson et al., “Caribou Use of Habitat Near Energy Development in Arctic Alaska,” The Wildlife Society, December 18, 2019.
3. Elwood Brehmer, “Biden administration plans return to Obama-era protections for National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska,” Anchorage Daily News, January 10, 2022.
4. Elwood Brehmer, “Biden administration plans return to Obama-era protections for National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska,” Anchorage Daily News, January 10, 2022.
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