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Dear [Representative or Senator] [First and Last Name],

I recently watched the film Oil on Ice about the controversy over drilling the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil. I am writing you about an issue that concerns me deeply:  drilling in the Refuge threatens one of America’s last, great wild places.

The Refuge is one of the most biologically productive regions on the planet and is the feeding and breeding grounds for millions of resident and migratory birds, a herd of 130,000 caribou, all three species of North American bears, plus Dall sheep, muskox, weasels, lemmings, wolves, foxes, wolverine, and porcupine.  It is a sacred place for the Gwich'in People who depend upon the caribou for their subsistence and cultural identity.

Oil companies say that modern drilling is less harmful to the environment that it used to be, but caribou biologists warn that oil exploration and development is not compatible with caribou calving or large-scale caribou migration. Also, since 1996, the Prudhoe Bay oil fields and Trans-Alaska Pipeline have caused an average of 427 spills annually on the North Slope -- most commonly spills of diesel and crude oil. In fact, since early February 2001, at least three large oil spills have occurred in the Prudhoe Bay area -- resulting in over 10, 000 gallons of spilled crude oil and drilling muds. The Arctic Refuge coastal plain is too precious to risk from spills such as these. 

Drilling in the Refuge will have no discernable short-term or long-term impact on the price of fuel and will not decrease our dependence on foreign oil. The amount of oil under the Arctic Refuge would never satisfy more than 2 percent of our nation's oil demands at any given time. The wilderness values of the Arctic Refuge coastal plain are too precious to give away as a temporary bandage for our need for oil. Furthermore, evidence of global warming dictates a need to develop clean, renewable energies.

The moment has arrived for a technological system that depends upon renewable energy resources. We would save more oil by increasing the fuel efficiency of cars than we could ever get from the calving grounds of the Arctic Refuge. Ninety-five percent of America's arctic coastal plain is already open for oil development; we must protect this remaining five percent for the sake of future generations, and for nature itself.

 I hope you will support the permanent protection of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. I look forward to your reply.

 Sincerely, 
[your name]
[your address]