WHAT'S GOING ON? | The BLM is considering a proposal to scrap environmental reviews for oil and gas permits in the Western Arctic Reserve (NPR-A).
American taxpayers are already $1 BILLION in the hole on President Trump’s previous attempt to sell off land in the Arctic Refuge (ANWR) to the highest bidder to afford massive tax breaks for the country’s wealthiest. Now the Willow Complex in America’s Western Arctic is also falling short, projected to cost Alaska’s taxpayers more than they’ll get back from ConocoPhillips.
Despite this record of repeated economic failures, the Administration is now aiming to further fast-track the giveaway of Arctic public lands with a new proposal before the Bureau of Land Management. If adopted, the proposed changes would mean that oil and gas projects in the Western Arctic would no longer require environmental impact assessments. Instead, the BLM would be required - within 60 days - to grant permits for any project that claimed to meet a generic set of standardized requirements. However, companies would be able to apply for exemptions to the environmental requirements, and the BLM would not have the authority to revoke permits for any reason except if the permit was obtained fraudulently. This effectively removes the BLM’s ability to manage land or rescind/change permits in response to environmental disasters or misconduct, turning government into a rubber-stamp for corporate interests.
WHO IS DOING IT? | The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) under President Trump.
The current proposal to remove environmental review from oil and gas leasing in the Western Arctic was brought to the BLM by the Alaska Oil and Gas Administration. The BLM’s responsibility is to manage land for the American people, not for corporate profits.
WHY DOES IT MATTER? | America's Arctic is too important to Planet Earth to be gifted to corporate interests.
FIRST, oil and gas profits are already at record highs. The administration's push to drill the American Arctic while derailing renewable energy projects and removing solar and wind power from federal energy programs is a blatant corporate handout at the expense of everyday Americans and the well-being of our entire planet. Our federal agencies have a responsibility to ensure the government works FOR its citizens. Instead, it's actively helping one of the wealthiest and most polluting industries in the world at the expense of the average Americans' pocketbooks.
SECOND, the Arctic is warming 4x faster than the rest of the planet. A healthy Arctic stabilizes the jet stream, reducing extreme weather events. It's an enormous carbon sink for the entire planet, mitigating the worst impacts of climate change all around the globe.
Recent natural disasters, like the devastation caused across Western Alaska by Typhoon Halong and freezing temperatures in Texas, only underscore how much is at stake, and how much coastal and Indigenous communities bear the burden of our collective action.
The Western Arctic is the ancestral homeland of Indigenous Peoples who depend upon access to clean water and unpolluted resources for traditional livelihoods and food security. And it is vital habitat for American wildlife like polar bears, bowhead whales, caribou, and wolves.
Watch the video below to learn more on how America's Arctic impacts everyone on Earth, and and explore the entire 5-part series of 1-minute videos on how the Arctic impacts global biodiversity, economies, climate, and food webs.
OK! WHAT CAN I DO ABOUT IT? | Educate yourself and others! Visit our Take Action page often to find the latest guidance, and follow us on social media to updates in real time.
In addition to taking action above, follow @ProTheArctic to stay up to date, and check out our Creator Toolkit for resources like maps, videos, and more to share your own content!
