Defenders of Wildlife Blog

The Arctic refuge is the largest onshore denning area for America's polar bears.

BREAKING: In its first vote on the issue since 2008, the U.S. Senate today decisively voted down an amendment to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas exploration (vote count 41-57).

This amendment, offered by Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS), not only sought to open the Arctic refuge’s coastal plain to drilling, but also would have allowed drilling in vast areas of our nation’s coastal waters, including the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, offshore Virginia and Alaska’s Bristol Bay, would have approved the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, and would have reinstated 11th hour regulations from President Bush that would allow massive commercial-scale leasing of our western public lands for oil shale and tar sands developments.

Jamie Rappaport Clark, president and CEO of Defenders of Wildlife, said after the vote, “The Senate today continued the legacy of keeping dirty and dangerous drilling out of the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, demonstrating a commitment to our country’s natural treasures and a refusal to engage in the Big Oil giveaway that is keeping its Congressional counterpart spinning its wheels. If the House of Representatives is serious about securing critical transportation funding this year, they should follow suit and remove Big Oil’s wish list from the bill.”

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Photo courtesy of USFWS

Drilling in the Arctic refuge will do nothing to combat the high gas prices seen today. What small amounts of oil might be generated from oil and gas leasing in the Arctic refuge would not be seen for ten years as oil companies will still need to explore, apply for drilling permits and start development.

This amendment is almost identical to an earlier amendment introduced by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) that was ruled “non germane” by the Senate Finance Committee, and an amendment offered by Sen. Hoeven (R-ND) that was voted down last week.

Learn more:

Read about the reckless “drill everywhere” bill passed by the House of Representative last month.

The U.S. Senate rejected four amendments today that would strip the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of its ability to regulate the emission of greenhouse gas pollution that causes climate change and threatens the health of our communities and natural resources. The vote demonstrates a continued dedication to American people and natural resources over the interests of big polluters.

Rodger Schlickeisen, president and CEO of Defenders of Wildlife said, “The Senate’s vote to allow EPA to do its job of protecting us from greenhouse gas pollution shows that Congress has not lost touch with the interests of the voters that put them in office. Today’s vote enables the EPA to continue the mission it was created to do — keep American families and natural resources safe and healthy.”

Learn more about how Defenders is working to protect American lands and wildlife from the harmful impacts of climate change.