The Arctic forests breathing life into our world face a new threat: the Trump administration’s rash decision to allow ExxonMobil and other multinational corporations to drill for oil in Alaska’s largest wildlife refuge. But luckily this is one battle the American people can win.
Authorized by a shadow provision of 2017 tax bill, nearly 99% of public comments offered to the Department of the Interior by scientists and our fellow citizens stand opposed to allowing these companies to move forward with their plans. The refuge, located in the northernmost point of Alaska, is home to the United States’ last remaining population of polar bears, native caribou and hundreds of migratory birds. Young cubs, hibernating in underground dens with their mothers, will be buried alive as oil machinery tears through the tundra. Many pipelines that will be used to ship crude oil through Canada are over five decades old, virtually ensuring spills that jeopardize the livelihoods of everyday Alaskans and native peoples alike.
If we stand united, we can stop this. BP, notorious for its role in the Gulf oil spill, has already sold off equipment it would have used to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. And a 2019 bill in the House of Representatives to ban the drilling could move forward in Congress after the election. Use your vote to make this an issue in the presidential primary. With 2020 on the horizon, our voices echo beyond the Granite State. We are the Arctic’s only hope.
JAMES DAVIS
Hampton