Speak out to protect the Arctic Refuge forever 25OKT11

BIG oil and gas companies, shell, bp, exxon, chevron and others, have their eyes on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and they are waging a propaganda war to force the government to open it up to more oil and gas drilling. These companies and motivated by greed, not a desire to lessen our national dependence on imported oil. The propaganda campaign also includes lies, deception and misinformation on these companies ability to prevent any any oil spills and about their ability to completely clean up any spill if one should occur. They claim their operations will be conducted in harmony with the environment ANWR's coastal plain. Click the link to send a message to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service asking them to adopt Alternative E, the full wilderness option, to protect and preserve the integrity of ANWR's coastal plain.

Act now to protect the heart of the Arctic Call on the Fish and Wildlife Service to designate the Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge as wilderness and keep it safe from oil rigs -- forever! We have a rare opportunity right now to protect the heart of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge forever. The Obama Administration is writing a conservation plan for the Arctic Refuge that could recommend wilderness protection for its Coastal Plain -- an area which has been targeted by Big Oil for decades. Please call on the Fish and Wildlife Service to designate the Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge as wilderness, which would be off-limits to oil development. Since the Arctic Refuge was set aside by Congress more than 50 years ago, a majority of Americans has shown support for protecting this vast wilderness and its abundant wildlife. As the biological heart of the Arctic Refuge, its Coastal Plain provides irreplaceable habitat for bears, wolves, Arctic foxes and millions of migratory birds. This pristine wildland is also our nation’s largest denning site for pregnant polar bears ... the only birthing ground for the 180,000-member porcupine caribou herd ... and the last home of 350 shaggy muskoxen, a species that survived the previous ice age. Simply put, there is no other place like it on the planet. Yet the oil giants and their Congressional allies have pushed repeatedly to open up the sensitive Coastal Plain for drilling. NRDC has fought for decades to stave off every attempt by Big Oil to drill in America’s greatest wildlife sanctuary, but a wilderness designation for the Coastal Plain would ensure that it is protected from oil rigs forever. This recommendation would be an important first step in that direction. Congress would still need to act on the Administration’s recommendation -- and that is unlikely to happen anytime soon -- but in the meantime, the Interior Department would manage the Coastal Plain as if it were protected wilderness. And, following this recommendation, the President could declare the Coastal Plain a National Monument, thereby saving it from any further attacks by Big Oil. Help us generate a massive outpouring of support for protecting the Coastal Plain by sending a message to the Fish and Wildlife Service today. Let them know you support their plan to recommend its designation as wilderness. Thanks for taking action to keep the Arctic wild and free. Sincerely, Frances Beinecke President Natural Resources Defense Council

STOP PEBBLE MINE! Don't let a foreign mining company destroy one of our last wild places.from NRDC 29SEP10

PLEASE JOIN IN THIS ACTION FROM THE NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL AGAINST THE PROPOSED PEBBLE MINE IN ALASKA....SEE BELOW FOR INFORMATION AND CLICK THE HEADER TO SEND A LETTER TO ANGLO-AMERICAN......

I urge you to speak out now to save the wildlife Eden of Bristol Bay from corporate mining giant, Anglo American. That company wants us to believe it can safely store 10 billion tons of mining waste in an active earthquake zone -- FOREVER. Please tell Anglo American you¹re not buying it. Tell them you care more about Bristol Bay¹s moose, caribou, wolves and salmon than about one company¹s profit-driven scheme.

It will only take a minute to send your message -- and it could save one of our last great places for generations to come.

Do You TRUST Anglo American to Protect Alaska’s Wilderness? BP promised a major oil spill would never happen in the Gulf. Now Anglo American is promising its massive Pebble Mine won’t despoil Bristol Bay. Do you trust a mining giant with a wildlife Eden? Dear Craig, Last Spring we ratcheted up the pressure on Anglo American and its disastrous plan to build a mega-mine in Alaska’s pristine Bristol Bay watershed. We presented a Petition -- signed by 100,000 concerned Americans -- at Anglo’s Shareholder’s Meeting on Earth Day! But in the wake of the Gulf oil spill disaster, we need to do more. It’s time to tell Anglo American we’re not buying its promises of environmental responsibility. BP made plenty of promises, too. Then it proved that corporate claims ring hollow and worst-case scenarios do happen. Tell Anglo American you don’t want another corporate giant gambling with the future of a priceless ecosystem. Oil, gas and mining companies like to say, “Trust us.” Anglo American is promising plenty of studies and environmental impact statements. They will claim that a massive release of mining waste is a “worst case scenario” that will never happen. They will claim that Bristol Bay -- the world’s largest salmon fishery and home to abundant bears, moose and caribou -- is in no danger from the colossal Pebble Mine. How gullible do they think we are? Every large copper and gold mine on Earth has suffered spills and other disasters, including acid runoff and mercury contamination. Anglo American’s own plans say that the Pebble Mine will spew some 10 billion tons of mining waste, laced with toxic chemicals, that must be stored behind massive earthen dams FOREVER in an active earthquake zone. Nothing lasts forever. The only question is, when will those dams fail? The wildlife, fishermen and Native communities of Bristol Bay cannot afford to find out the answer, because they stand to pay the ultimate price in a devastated ecosystem. Please stand in solidarity with them by telling Anglo American you won’t let them roll the dice with Bristol Bay. Polluters like to think our attention spans are short. They believe they can wait until “the storm blows over,” and then go back to business as usual. Let them know they’re wrong. Tell Anglo that, after the Gulf spill, you’re not buying any more corporate promises. Sincerely, Peter Lehner Executive Director Natural Resources Defense Council