The Wilderness Blog

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My afternoon as a Polar Bear

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There was a bit of hesitancy in communications director Kathy Westra’s voice last Thursday when she asked me how I would feel about wearing a polar bear costume to an outdoor mid-day rally at the Department of the Interior to raise awareness about oil drilling in Arctic waters. As a communications intern new to Washington, I jumped at an opportunity to draw attention to myself, and I then proceeded to research the issue more in-depth, so I would know why I was wearing this enormous furry outfit in the noonday Washington heat. more

Canada’s strip-mining isn’t so friendly for Montana’s Glacier National Park

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What would it say about our prospects for global peace and prosperity if the world’s first International Peace Park were strip-mined and drilled in search of coal and gas? I wish that question was merely hypothetical, but with Canadian strip-mining and gas drilling threatening the water and wildlife of Montana’s Glacier National Park, the U.S. portion of the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, the question is all too real. more

Salazar arrives in Alaska for off-shore drilling hearing

Today is a big day in Anchorage. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar is in town to gather input to inform his agency’s decisions about opening the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) to energy development. Anchorage is home base to many major oil companies that operate on Alaska’s North Slope, so we expect a big turnout from both pro-development interests as well as those who are concerned about the environmental impacts of oil development in Alaska’s pristine waters. more

Barbeque promotes protection for Alaska's Outer Continental Shelf

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I’ve just returned from a lunch of freshly-grilled wild salmon. That’s not unusual in Alaska. What was different about this meal was the fact that it took place in downtown Anchorage, and I was joined by about 50 other people, including a woman dressed as a polar bear. more

My one-man boycott of Exxon

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I didn’t know squat about environmental issues when an oil tanker captain crashed the Exxon Valdez in Prince William Sound, Alaska 20 years ago. I was in college at the University of Georgia at the time and the seminal moments of my life then were determined by the quality of the dates I got and by the points I scored in our daily intramural basketball games. more

Oil shale offers little more than a hoax to taxpayers

In the wake of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s actions to restore science and good stewardship to the federal government’s oil shale and oil and gas leasing programs, several groups ― many with connections to oil and gas companies ― continue to sound a false alarm that such steps will lead us toward a greater dependence on foreign energy sources. Such claims could not be further from the truth and serve only as a means to divide Americans to advance the aims of special interests such as the fossil fuel industry. more

Rejecting Utah drilling is a good start to fixing larger problem

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It’s a good day when you can be reasonably assured that a trip to the Windows or Delicate Arch at Arches National Park won’t be tarnished by the thought that most of the public land surrounding the park is in the hands of the oil and gas industry. more