Impt.Audubon Alert on ANWAR /16 SENATORS MAY DETERMINE FATE OF ANWAR

Part of an alert I received:


Audubon's Twice-Monthly Legislative Update
October 10, 2003
(Vol. 2003, Issue 20)

IN THIS ISSUE:

* Arctic Drilling
* Upper Mississippi Meetings
* Funding For Conservation Programs
* Population and the Environment
* Issue Links



16 SENATORS MAY DETERMINE FATE OF ARCTIC REFUGE

Despite the fact that Congress was out of session this week, the energy bill being crafted by a House-Senate Conference Committee, which presently includes the House-passed provision to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling, was still actively on the move on Capitol Hill! Pro-drilling special interests and their allies in Congress continue to pull out all the stops to get their hands on Alaska's wilderness. They're working tirelessly to win over 16 key members of the U.S. Senate (all but two, Senator Specter (R-PA) and Senator Lugar (R-IN), voted to protect the Arctic Refuge from drilling earlier this year) by loading up the energy bill with measures that would benefit their states. This includes proposals to increase the use of corn-based ethanol in the nation's gasoline supply, and boost energy assistance to low-income families for heating and cooling. These are important issues that deserve to be addressed and passed on their own merits, not used as lures or bait in exchange for opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling!

FOCUS IS ON THE SENATE
Remember, any final bill passed by the Conference Committee must be approved by both the full U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives. While the House would undoubtedly pass the Conference Committee bill with drilling provisions, it would be a different story in the Senate. If the Conference Committee releases a bill with drilling provisions, anti-drilling leaders in the Senate will filibuster the bill - a procedural tactic that stops a bill from moving forward. The only way to end a filibuster is for a "super majority" of Senators (meaning 60) to vote to stop it. In this case, if the pro-drillers cannot get 60 votes to end the filibuster, the energy bill goes back to the drawing table, and the Arctic Refuge is safe from drilling for another year!

Listed below are the 16 U.S. Senators that are being targeted by pro-drilling special interests in an effort to secure their votes to end any potential filibuster. Unfortunately, while again all but two voted to protect the Arctic Refuge from drilling earlier this year, not one has committed to supporting the filibuster that would stop the energy bill from moving forward.

And if the Arctic drilling provisions alone are not enough to convince these lawmakers that the energy bill presently being debated by the Conference Committee should not pass this year, keep in mind that as currently written, the bill does not call for an increase in the fuel efficiency of cars and trucks. It rolls back existing environmental safeguards for oil and gas drilling on public lands and expands development to areas currently off-limits due to their environmental fragility. It does not include measures to diversify America's energy supplies with renewable power sources, nor does it address meaningful ways to reduce global warming pollution.

KEEP THE PRESSURE ON!
Audubon and our partners in conservation are working hard to encourage these 16 lawmakers to voice their support for the filibuster, thus send the measure back to the drawing table and give our lawmakers the opportunity to craft an energy bill that will effectively meet the demands of our country, without depleting or destroying our natural resources. But we're up against powerful opponents, and you can bet the bank that pro-drilling special interests are doing everything they can to convince these Senators to pass this measure this year! That's why we really need your help. If one or more of your lawmakers is included on the list below, please contact those Senators immediately! As time is of the essence, please call - or even better - make a point to visit with your lawmaker or staff in the district offices (contact Audubon at audubonaction@audubon.org, or 1-800-659-2622 for more information on this) - as nothing is more effective than face-to-face meetings with your lawmakers and their staffs!! And even if your lawmakers are not on the list, please continue to contact them and tell them to encourage their colleagues to oppose efforts to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling! Click HERE NOW to instantly send your letters today!

And Try This!
For the past several weeks, we have encouraged our readers to utilize the "Letters-to-the-Editor" feature on our TAKE ACTION site. If you haven't done so before, NOW is a great time to try! This is an important activity that can have far reaching results in your community. Remember, Letters-to-the-Editor are widely read by community leaders and lawmakers to gauge public sentiment on current issues. It can only maximize the impact of your calls, letters and visits! Our "Letters to-the-Editor" feature provides you with a list of papers throughout your area. You can select those you wish to submit a letter to. The site also provides you with a sample letter you can either send as is, or edit as you wish. It's quick, easy and can be tremendously effective! So click HERE NOW to give it a try!

Key Senators:
ARIZONA: Senator John McCain 202-224-2235
ARKANSAS: Senator Mark Pryor 202-224-2353, and Senator Blanche Lincoln 202-224-4843
ILLINOIS: Senator Peter Fitzgerald 202-224-2854
INDIANA: Senator Evan Bayh 202-224-5623 and Senator Richard Lugar 202-224-4814
MAINE: Senator Susan Collins 202-224-2523
MINNESOTA: Senator Norm Coleman 202-224-5641
NEBRASKA: Senator Ben Nelson 202-224-6551
NORTH DAKOTA: Senator Kent Conrad 202-224-2043, Senator Byron Dorgan 202-224-2551
OHIO: Senator Mike DeWine 202-224-2315
OREGON: Senator Gordon Smith 202-224-3753
PENNSYLVANIA: Senator Arlen Specter 202-224-4254
VERMONT: Senator Patrick Leahy 202-224-4242
WEST VIRGINIA: Senator Robert Byrd 202-224-3954

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One of these days, this or something like it is going to pass. Unfortunately, the oil barons of the USA in the early part of last century decided to turn the USA into a one-nation OPEC for a few decades. Basically, because of their lust for profits, the USA now faces what could easily become a dire energy situation over the course of our lifetimes, if not sooner ;) It's too bad, really, but there's nothing we can do about it now. The key is, as this article suggests, to get concessions that favor some of our (meaning those of us who care about the wilderness) interests in exchange for the inevitable exploitation of every possible domestic source of energy. It's only a matter oft time, folks. There are very few people who would give up gas and electrical power willingly, in order to protect habitat or natural treasures. You watch how fast even OUR die-hard conservation streak takes a back seat if the chips are ever really down.

Many people, in fact, are already totally ready to lay down and let 'em drill. This is partly from a general feeling amongst these folk that 'only whiny tre-huggin hippy liberals are supposed to CARE about our mother earth' but also out of good ol' fashioned greed. Many people, regardless of political leanings, realize that feeding our addiction to foreign oil is linked to terrorism against us. We are going to face an uphill battle throughout our lifetimes to protect wilderness from exploitation. It's only going to get worse for us protectors too. I think that we need to take advantage of whatever side-benefits we can eak out while the getting is still good, otherwise, later, we may have to give up our wilderness for nothing.

I pragmatically suggest that people accept the expansion of our nuke-u-lar energy generating capacity, because it's pretty much inevitable that we grow this source. Scary, I know, but it's better than a lot of the alternatives.

Don't get me wrong, I hope my predictions are incorrect. But I don't think they are...