Chill the Drills - Protect Alaska's Polar Bear Seas
Known as the 'Polar Bear Seas,' the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas are essential habitat for polar bears and other important marine mammals such as beluga and bowhead whales and bearded and spotted seals. The Chukchi Sea supports approximately one-tenth of the world's remaining polar bear population alone.
The planned oil and gas leasing and development in the Polar Bear Seas will do irrevocable damage to this fragile habitat. Spills are already an everyday occurrence in oil drilling. In Alaska, the oil industry reported 4,534 spills across Alaska's North Slope and Beaufort Sea between 1996 and 2004 alone. There is currently no proven method for cleaning or controlling an oil spill in icy, Arctic waters, where difficult weather conditions are common.
Please sign the petition today to urge your Senators to put polar bear protection ahead of new oil development!
To: US Senate
I urge you to put polar bear protection ahead of new oil development by supporting legislation by Rep. Edward Markey (H.R. 5058) and Senator John Kerry (S. 2568) to stop Lease Sale 193 in the Chukchi Sea -- at least until the Secretary of the Interior determines whether to list the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
As the U.S. Government considers listing these animals under the Endangered Species Act, it should not first seriously threaten the health of its most vital habitat by allowing offshore drilling.
Please act immediately to save the polar bear by supporting this important legislation. We need to take real steps to protect the Polar Bear and aid its recovery, and to stop dangerous and dirty offshore oil drilling in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas.
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