SierraScape October - November 2001
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Senate vote will clinch fate of last great wilderness

ANWR and U.S. energy policy debate

by Carla T. Klein, Conservation Organizer

The U.S. House of Representatives voted in July to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling.

Eventually, a vote in the U.S. Senate will decide the fate of this great wilderness.
Supporters of opening the Arctic Refuge to oil development claim that it is necessary to reduce American dependence on foreign oil.

Simply raising fuel economy standards would have saved 3 million barrels of oil a dayÑfar more than the Arctic Refuge would provide. But the House voted against the Boehlert-Markey amendment that would have raised these fuel economy standards for light trucks and SUVs.

Updated miles per gallon standards would have actually reduced U.S. dependence on foreign oil, saved consumers money at the gas pump, and cut global warming and pollution. The technology already exists to improve fuel economy without compromising the safety of these vehicles.

America needs a long-term energy policy based on conservation, efficiency, alternative fuels and making our cars go farther on a gallon of gas.
Such a strategy will decrease the demand for oil and gas, reduce pollution and allow us to protect our national treasures, like ANWR, for future generations.
Please write or call your Senators, and let them know that you fully expect them to vote responsibly in the future to provide the nation with a balanced energy policy.

For more information, please contact Carla T. Klein, Global Warming & Energy Program Conservation Organizer, at (314) 645-2032, or email carla.klein@sierraclub.org