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

Calling for a "time out" on offshore leasing in Alaska

This week, National Journal reporter Margaret Kriz asked Bill Meadows and other environmental experts to focus on one of the important environmental decisions facing Interior Secretary Salazar: whether or not to open more of America’s coast to offshore oil and gas exploration and drilling. more

Time is running out! Join us today to protect Arctic wildlife

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Democracy, sweet democracy. How blessed are we Americans that it doesn’t take a street full of burning tires to get the government’s attention. So entrenched is our glorious democracy that even the federal government cannot finalize decisions about how to use our lands and our waters without first consulting us citizens. That’s how it works in theory — though I can think of one recent administration, (starts with a ‘B’, ends with an ‘h’) that could have used a little flaming rubber in this regard. 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

Public Says No to Drilling Utah’s Canyon Country. Will Government Listen?

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Will the Bureau of Land Management listen to more than 1 million Americans  and halt its plan to lease some of the Utah canyon country’s most pristine and spectacular wildlands? The BLM ignored conservation groups in the fall when they protested the agency’s plans to open much of the canyon country to energy development as part of new management plans that govern public land in eastern Utah. more