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Second Nexus © 2019
PARIS, FRANCE - JANUARY 19: Dr Jane Goodall attends 'Jane' National Geographic Documentary on Jane Goodall Premiere at UNESCO on January 19, 2018 in Paris, France. (Foc Kan/WireImage)
President Donald J. Trump’s administration lives by a single overriding credo — if Barack Obama built it, they’ll tear it down.
Environmental activists have been watching as regulation after regulation and safeguard after safeguard gets thrown on the chopping block, essentially leaving Obama’s noteworthy environmental legacy in tatters — unless legal challenges to Trump policy prove successful in court.
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">To </span><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2017/12/20/politics/lisa-murkowski-anwr/index.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">secure the vote of Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> for December’s large tax break for </span><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/tax-bill-passes-senate-vote-trump-republicans-reforms-a8119546.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">corporations and wealthy Americans</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, the U.S. Senate removed protections established by Obama that prevented </span><a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/long-long-battle-arctic-national-wildlife-refuge"><span style="font-weight: 400;">drilling by oil companies in the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> (ANWR), which environmentalists deem sacred because it remains so unspoiled. It has also been home to </span><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/12/senate-tax-bill-indigenous-communities/547352/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Gwich‘in natives — an Athabaskan people — who continue to live traditionally</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, as they have for untold centuries.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">No less a personage than Dr. Jane Goodall, the British primatologist who has become a household name because of her work with chimpanzees in Tanzania, </span><a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-arctic-goodall/jane-goodall-urges-u-s-senate-to-halt-quest-for-arctic-refuge-oil-idUSKBN1DE33A?utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A+Trending+Content&utm_content=5a0bbcf404d30102fc92214a&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook"><span style="font-weight: 400;">entered the political fray just before the vote.</span></a></p><p><div data-conversation-spotlight=""></div></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“If we violate the </span><a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/proof/2017/12/arctic-national-wildlife-refuge-wildlife-photos-anwr-protection/#see-the-arctic-refuge%E2%80%99s-fragile-beauty"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Arctic Refuge</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> by extracting the oil beneath the land, this will have devastating impact for the Gwich‘in people for they depend on the caribou herds to sustain their traditional way of life,” wrote Goodall in a letter to American legislators.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Goodall believes that the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s “very wildness speaks to our deeply rooted spiritual connection to nature, a necessary element of human psyche.” </span></p><p><b>A History of Failure</b></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Congress has tried to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling 50 times before now, so this is a victory for oil companies, but not entirely unexpected. By passing this measure from within a far-reaching tax bill, Republicans are hiding the devil in the details.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">All energy companies are rejoicing about having one of their own in the White House. The budget not only </span><a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/senate-opens-up-alaskas-arctic-national-wildlife-refuge-to-oil-drilling/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">opened up the Arctic Refuge</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, but it cut </span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2018/01/05/republicans-allowed-a-tax-on-oil-companies-to-expire-and-almost-nobody-noticed/?utm_term=.cb955d94c558"><span style="font-weight: 400;">9 cents per barrel tax on all oil production </span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">to pay for inevitable oil spills. And then, just this month, Trump </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/04/climate/trump-offshore-drilling.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">made offshore drilling legal again throughout the US</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, despite widespread condemnation from many states that rely heavily on tourism along their coasts. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Environmentalists have many battles to wage, but the fight to save the Arctic carries great import.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This unspeakably beautiful region is home to polar bears, caribou and millions of birds who migrate with changing seasons. When </span><a href="https://inhabitat.com/obama-plans-to-protect-arctic-national-wildlife-refuge-against-drilling-and-exploration/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Obama designated an even larger swathe of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as wilderness in 2015</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> — the highest level of protection given to public lands — it was believed that this area in Alaska would soon be cherished by all Americans in the same way that the Grand Canyon and Yosemite are considered natural works of art.</span></p><p><b>Ramifications for Alaska and the Planet</b></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Other biologists and ecologists agree that this decision is a disaster. The Arctic Refuge is a prime breeding ground for many species, especially </span><a href="http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2017/12/06/arctic-national-wildlife-refuge-drilling-oil-impact-wildlife/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">caribou relied upon by the Gwich‘in natives and for legions of migratory birds, according to Columbia University researcher Natalie Boelman</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It’s not just oil spills, Boelman says. The damage done by large trucks and heavy equipment leaves scars on the land that take generations to heal — if they manage to heal at all. Even noise and dust can be devastating to fragile species.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“In the spring, every pond or puddle is covered in ducks and geese,” Boelman says. “It’s loud. There are millions, billions of them that count on these areas for breeding habitats. The region is essentially one of the Earth’s most important bird nurseries.” </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Some species are fragile or endangered, and might not survive a dramatic upheaval.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Birds migrate there from all over the world,” Boelman adds. “If something happens to their breeding grounds, it will impact the rest of the planet.”</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">To be fair, </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/20/climate/drilling-arctic-anwr.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">not all of the Arctic Refuge is falling under the knife</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. The new plan will carve up the the coastal plain, which is about the size of South Carolina. Congress and Alaska Senator Murkowski don’t see </span><a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-fight-over-the-arctic-national-wildlife-refuge-is-back/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">fragile ecosystems when they look at the area, they see tax dollars</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Now that Congress has ballooned the deficit by passing a $1.5 trillion tax break for the wealthy, the potential for $1.9 billion in tax revenue and possible economic spinoffs are too tempting to pass up. Notably, the Center for American Progress disputes that benefit, arguing that the </span><a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/green/news/2017/10/10/440559/arctic-national-wildlife-refuge-101/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">real figure for tax revenues would be $37.5 million.</span></a></p><p><b>Drilling for Oil as Climate Change Bites </b></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In many ways, it seems an </span><a href="https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/11/3/16602764/alaska-climate-change-oil-anwr"><span style="font-weight: 400;">odd decision for Alaska’s politicians</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span><a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/barrow-alaska-ground-zero-for-climate-change-7553696/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Climate change is hitting Alaska hard</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, with </span><a href="https://nsidc.org/about/monthlyhighlights/2009/09/arctic-amplification"><span style="font-weight: 400;">polar amplification</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> ensuring that this northern state warms 2.5 times as fast as the continent. Rising temperatures on land and sea are affecting </span><a href="https://news.uaf.edu/winners-and-losers-among-alaskas-world-class-salmon-fisheries/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">traditional industries like the salmon fishery</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, where small changes in freshwater acidification can wipe out breeding areas on rivers — which happened in </span><a href="http://thechronicleherald.ca/thenovascotian/193922-mending-nova-scotia-s-broken-rivers"><span style="font-weight: 400;">eastern Canada through acid rain</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> from the American rust belt.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Environmentalists are hoping that time is on their side. Drilling is unlikely to start tomorrow or anytime soon.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">First, the Department of the Interior needs to divide up the area for leases and — after doing so — allow time for public comment. Lawsuits and legal challenges are already in the offing, potentially slowing even this first step.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As well, the area hasn’t been surveyed for its oil potential by the United States Geological Survey in more than 30 years. The equipment and methods used then indicated that between </span><a href="https://www.npr.org/2017/12/21/572439797/arctic-national-wildlife-refuge-battle-ends-but-drilling-not-a-given"><span style="font-weight: 400;">4.3 to 11.8 billion barrels of oil</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> might be present, but many oil companies would like more precise data using modern equipment and software to hedge their bets.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The price of oil is yet another factor. With modern technologies and renewables becoming the face of energy in the 21st century, demand for oil and gas is waning, despite the efforts of Congress to prop up failing industries. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Another very important consideration is optics. For many people of a certain age, the Alaskan oil spill caused by the </span><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2014/03/the-exxon-valdez-oil-spill-25-years-ago-today/100703/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Exxon Valdez marked their first forays into environmentalism</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. A pristine coastline was all but destroyed, and images of oil-coated birds drawing their last breath was a potent reminder of the damage humanity can do to the planet. Oil companies might be slow to bid for leases when oil from less biologically sensitive areas is available. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Certainly, with midterm elections on the horizon, and the </span><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/20/another-poll-spells-trouble-for-the-gop-in-2018-midterm-elections.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Republican Party wildly unpopular</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, a lot can change. If the Democrats controlled both the House and the Senate, they could slow development in Alaska, or impose a carbon tax that makes developing the region less appealing.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Certainly, the battle over the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is just beginning, and environmentalists are playing a long game. It will start with the courts, and move back to Congress and the presidency if, as seems likely, a blue tsunami changes the political dynamic after the midterms.</span></p>
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