Florian Schulz
The coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is many things. The Gwich’in people call it ‘the sacred place where life begins.’ Polar bears love it since it is the most important on-shore denning area for ursus maritimus in the United States. It is the birthing ground for the Porcupine River caribou herd, a herd that migrates thousands of miles to get to the Arctic Refuge.
Simply put, the coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge is one of America’s last truly wild places. Yet drilling proponents are cynically calling for raising $1 billion - over 10 years - from leasing and drilling in the Arctic Refuge as part of the budget.
Donald Trump, Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell, and the Alaska congressional delegation don’t see the beauty of the magnificent coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge; they see a cash register - a place to sell off to multi-national oil giants like BP and Exxon, a place to find offsets for tax cuts for the wealthy and big corporations.
If the Trump administration is looking for an extra $1 billion, there are plenty of ways to raise that kind of money without ruining the Arctic Refuge forever. Congressional leaders could:
End subsidies, tax breaks and close loopholes for all fossil fuels - many of which go to megacorporations such as Exxon, Chevron, BP, ConocoPhillips, and Shell. That would save $14.7 billion a year, or $147 billion over the next decade.
Eliminate revenue sharing payments from offshore drilling to Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Alabama -- saving $8.805 billion over 10 years.
Raise grazing fees by $2.50 to raise around $16 million a year, or $160,000,000 between now and 2028. Not exactly $1 billion, but raising grazing fees is good for our national public lands.
Reform coal leasing practices on national public lands. For years, American taxpayers have been getting ripped off by coal companies that pay way below fair market value to lease public lands in Wyoming and Montana. Those coal companies also receive generous production subsidies. Repealing those subsidies could save taxpayers nearly $3 billion a year.
All these solutions are win win WIN. Congress could raise money for the budget, actually improve our environment by raising grazing fees, and closing oil and coal company loopholes instead of destroying the coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge.
In this debate the Gwich’in are right and Congress is wrong. It’s not a cash register. The coastal plain is the sacred place where life begins.
TAKE ACTION: Tell Congress to permanently protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from drilling.