March Madness

This time of year everyone’s talking about March Madness, the NCAA basketball tournament that dominates the sports news shows and much of social media. And while I am hoping that my brackets go un-busted, I’m also thinking of a different type of “madness;” the push to lease and drill for oil in the Arctic Ocean. Drilling there threatens not only the amazing wildlife of the Arctic and the subsistence culture of the Alaska Native people who live there, but also puts our climate at risk. Sadly, the Obama administration is considering offering new leases in the Arctic Ocean which is truly madness, and ironically, this is happening around the anniversary of one of our country’s worst environmental disasters.

Twenty-seven years ago, the Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef and spilled over 11 million gallons of oil into the pristine waters and rich fishing grounds of Prince William Sound.  It was the second largest oil spill ever in US waters, after the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, contaminating 1,500 miles of shoreline-- about the length of California's coast. Thousands of birds, sea otters, whales, and seals were killed. Many more were harmed in the weeks and years following the spill as the leftover oil lowered reproductive rates, stunted growth and contaminated the food chain.  The economies of the fishing villages impacted by the spill have yet to fully recover, and to this day, if you walk many of the beaches of the Sound and dig down you can still find oil.

It was unquestionably one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history. One that we cannot afford to forget as oil companies feed fears of rising gas prices to boost their bottom line and support new efforts to drill in some of our most special places—including the Arctic Ocean.

The Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, where the Obama administration is considering leasing, are home to the entire population of US polar bears.  Here, sea ice meets the northern edge of the continent and animals congregate in great numbers.  Known as the “Arctic Ring of Life,” this area is home to millions of migratory birds, beluga and endangered bowhead whales, seals and a host of other animals. 

I have been fortunate in my life to spend time in arctic Alaska. I’ve watched walrus gather on ice floes, puffins “fly” through the water, and polar bears prowl the ice edge.  I have traveled with Alaska Native people who have lived on these lands and waters for hundreds of generations, depending on whales and other wildlife for subsistence. A major oil spill could leave oil in these waters for decades, killing whales, seals, and fish, and bringing an end to Alaska Native’s ancient way of life.

Opening up the Arctic Ocean and other special places in America’s Arctic will not reduce gas prices or solve our energy challenges, but it will serve as a one-two punch to the Arctic. The region’s population and wildlife will suffer immediate threats from pollution and spills, while long-term increasing our addiction to oil accelerates climate change which is warming the Arctic twice as fast as the rest of the world. And just this month, the Arctic sea ice set another record low.

The only real way to reduce the pain of high oil prices, and the environmental danger posed by new drilling is to use less oil. We must embrace clean energy solutions that make cars cleaner and more efficient, expand our transportation choices, and invest in renewable energy. Unlike new drilling which will only benefit Big Oil, these solutions will help move our country forward. 

The Arctic—for now—is still vibrant and alive. When I stand on the coast of the Beaufort Sea this summer, I hope to see sandpipers that have winged their way north with millions of other birds,  not Shell oil rigs. I want to add my voice to those of thousands of people who are calling on President Obama to act now to protect the Arctic before this last wild frontier is sacrificed to tomorrow’s oil disaster.