Drilling for Oil in Arctic Refuge

Last month, Alaska prostituted itself, claiming that drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was the only way to make America energy independent. Fortunately for the American people, the Senate and the House Energy Committee rejected that stupid argument and passed energy bills that left our country’s last pristine Arctic ecosystem untouched.

Imagine our dismay when an ad appeared in The Times claiming that, tah-dah, drilling in the Arctic refuge was the key to ending unemployment (March 16). When this equally bogus effort to ride people’s legitimate fears about the economy fails, where else can we expect Alaska officials to turn?

We can see their ads now. Drilling the Arctic refuge guarantees more American gold medals at the Barcelona Olympics. Or, drilling the Arctic will end the drug wars, stop the collapse of the inner cities and halt nuclear proliferation.

Come on, let’s call this ad campaign what it really is: a greedy attempt to pull the wool over our eyes. Alaska Gov. Walter Hickel brags that he poured $800,000 into this campaign he labeled “Operation Arctic Storm.”

The Arctic Refuge belongs to everyone, not just to Alaska government officials or the oil companies or their ad agencies. It is a part of our planet so special that it deserves the same respect as the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone. It belongs to the future, not the greedy oil barons and their kept politicians.

MICHAEL FISCHER

Executive Director, Sierra Club

San Francisco