Dear Daniel, Unless we stop them, Vice President Dick Cheney and pro-drilling Senators could hand big oil companies the keys to one of our country’s last great remaining wild places - the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Your Senators are not among the handful of undecided Senators who will likely decide the fate of this natural treasure. But that doesn’t mean you can’t help. If you have friends or family in one of the six states below, please take a moment to send them a free ecard encouraging them to contact their Senators: - Arizona - Senator John McCain
- Florida - Senators Bill Nelson and Mel Martinez
- Maine - Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins
- Ohio - Senator Mike Dewine
- Oregon - Senator Gordon Smith
- Pennsylvania - Senators Arlen Specter and Rick Santorum
Or you can just forward this message and urge them to take action at http://arctic.defenders.org/callofthewild.
The Senate Budget Committee last week narrowly approved legislation that would authorize drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The full Senate will vote on allowing drilling in this special place as early as tomorrow. The Arctic Refuge is the single most important onshore denning site for America’s vanishing polar bears and their cubs. It is home to caribou, arctic foxes, and other treasured wildlife. And it is an important stop for millions of migratory birds from all over the United States and Canada. Drilling and the transportation and infrastructure needed to support it could wreak havoc on these special critters and the habitat they need to survive. A recently disclosed pipeline leak in Alaska dumped more than 200,000 gallons of oil at an important caribou crossing. [1] And who could forget the tragic Exxon Valdez spill? The Valdez spill is believed to have killed hundreds of bald eagles and harbor seals, and harmed many more species -- some of which have yet to recover. [2] Is it worth it? At peak production (almost 20 years from now), the refuge could only provide only 3% of U.S. oil needs. [3] And there is absolutely no guarantee that oil from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would not be sold to China, India, or other major oil-consuming countries. Send a free ecard now to save the Arctic Refuge and the treasured wildlife that lives there. The vote on Arctic drilling is expected to be extremely close -- perhaps within just one or two votes. If the vote is tied, ex-oilman and outspoken drilling proponent Vice President Cheney will cast the deciding vote. Don’t let pro-drilling politicians sell off this remarkable haven for wildlife to the big oil companies. Please send your ecard now. Together, we’ve protected the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for more than 30 years. As long as we make our voice heard, I know we can keep this national treasure -- and the wildlife that lives there safe from the oil companies that would ruin it. Sincerely, 
Rodger Schlickeisen
President
Defenders of Wildlife |  | P.S. This will be a close vote, and every call will count. Please forward this message to at least 3 friends, family, and neighbors in your state to urge them to help! P.P.S. Please make an emergency donation. We need all the help we can get to stop drilling in the Arctic Refuge and protect our vanishing wildlife. Notes [1] Associated Press, March 10, 2006
[2] The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council, “Update on Injured Resources and Services.” 2002, online at http://www.evostc.state.ak.us/Habitat/Downloadables/08.03_injured_resources.pdf [3] U.S. Dept. of Energy, Energy Information Administration, “Impacts of Modeled Provisions of HR 6 EH” Table C2 (pg 9) and Table C20 (pg 50)
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