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Senate says No to Big Oil in Alaska!
The American public has again triumphed over the special interests that would despoil our nation's greatest wildlife sanctuary.
Today's solid Senate vote is just one more example of the strong bipartisan support for protecting the Arctic refuge as a national treasure for future generations, and it should finally end Big Oil's relentless campaign to drill there " but we know it won't. Some members of Congress will continue to try to tack this proposal onto unrelated bills because they know it's impossible for them to win any other way.
The facts in this debate haven't changed, and neither has the opposition of the Senate or the American people. There's not enough oil there to give America energy independence or to have any impact on gas prices. In fact, there's only six months of oil beneath the refuge, and it would take up to 10 years to get the first barrels out.
If we really want to do something about our dependence on foreign oil, we should require SUVs to meet the same fuel economy standards as ordinary cars.
That would save more oil than the refuge could produce at peak volume.
Drilling in the refuge would serve only to destroy America's last truly wild place for the profit of oil companies.
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STATEMENT OF RODGER SCHLICKEISEN, PRESIDENT OF DEFENDERS OF WILDLIFE, ON THE SENATE VOTE STRIPPING A MEASURE ALLOWING DRILLING IN THE ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE FROM THE FY '04 BUDGET RESOLUTION
(Defenders of Wildlife is a leading national conservation organization recognized as one of the nation's most progressive advocates for wildlife and habitat and known for its effective leadership on saving endangered species such as brown bears and gray wolves. Defenders advocates new approaches to wildlife conservation that protect species before they become endangered. Founded in 1947, Defenders is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization with more than 430,000 members and supporters.)
Defenders of Wildlife
1101 14th Street, N.W.
Suite 1400
Washington, DC 20005
Copyright Defenders of Wildlife 2003