ALASKA WILDERNESS LEAGUE

The Arctic Refuge is one of the largest, most intact ecosystems on planet earth. It is absolutely crucial that we protect the land, the people, and the animals that inhabit it.

In late 2017, Congress passed an act which opened the Refuge up to oil and gas development. These developments would devastate the precious ecosystem, including the wildlife and indigenous people that live within it. The Gwich’en Nation, for example, have had a strong tie to the land and the migrating Caribou herds for thousands of years. The prosperity of the Gwich’en people is at stake as their main source of food may dwindle. It is clear that drilling in the arctic is a human rights issue. What is not so easy to see, though, are the environmental issues. The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the United States, causing polar bears to starve as their main sources of food disappear. By depending on fossil fuel extraction, we will make the Arctic increasingly uninhabitable for humans and animals alike. We can take a stand against these destructive practices, though. We don’t have to depend on fossil fuel extraction anymore. Instead, we can help pave the way for protecting natural areas rather than exploiting them. We can embrace human rights over profits and step up for the Gwich’en people. We can keep those 19 million acres of land untouched, pristine, and home to happy -- not starved -- polar bears.