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DEVELOPING… Senate Republicans have voted 49-45 to revoke a land management plan for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s fragile Coastal Plain, allowing every single acre of the area to be considered for fossil fuel exploitation.
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With this vote, the Senate just dismantled critical safeguards and could allow for oil and gas drilling in one of the most ecologically sensitive places on Earth.
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The Coastal Plain is the heartbeat of the Arctic Refuge. Located on the traditional homelands of the Iñupiaq and Gwichʼin peoples, the area is home to denning polar bears, 200 species of migratory birds, and the Porcupine Caribou herd, which is an essential and interconnected part of Iñupiaq and Gwichʼin life. This vote puts all of it at risk.
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We’ve defended the Arctic before — and we can stop drilling, if we are united.
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Drilling in the Arctic is a handout to oil companies and is unpopular with most Americans.
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This means that the more pressure we can apply — and the more the public is aware of the damage being done — the better chance we have to stop Trump’s plans to exploit it. We’re already starting to see some Republican lawmakers back off from supporting his policies.
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If we can keep this up, there's a real chance we can delay drilling operations until protections are put in place. But to pull that off, it's going to take all of us.
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The Arctic has endured decades of political attacks. It has survived because people like you refuse to let oil companies turn this region, essential for our shared human, animal, and planetary well-being, into another extraction zone. We need that same resolve now.
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Matthew Davis Vice President of Federal Policy League of Conservation Voters
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