US House of Representatives Vote to Open ANWR for Oil Exploration

The fight is on to stop Oil Exploration in ANWR Alaska! The US House of Representative had voted to open up the coastal plain of ANWR to oil and gas development. Included in the bill is the opening of the US Outer Continental Shelf areas to oil and gas exploration, encouraging oil shale development nationwide and mandating the approval of the Keystone Pipeline Project. Now the bill moves to the Senate where strong opposition lies for it's future. The President has threatened to veto any legislation including the Keystone Pipeline stating "I strongly reject drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge because it would irreversibly damage a proctected national wildlife refuge without creating sufficient oil supplies to meaningfully affect the global market price or have a discernible impact on US energy security." Native Alaska Inter-Tribal Council which represents 229 Alaskan Tribes officially opposes any development in ANWR. Many tribes live off the land and caribou is one of the primary animals that they depend on for sustenance. Approximately 250,000 migrating herds of caribou use ANWR as their calving grounds. If this bill is passed it's possible that the calving grounds will be destroyed from oil and gas exploration.

Melvin Wylie