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. While The Wilderness Society is not deeply involved in OCS issues in the Lower 48, protecting the waters off Alaska’s coast — specifically those of Bristol Bay and the Arctic Ocean’s Beaufort and Chukchi Seas — is a top priority for TWS, and is the focus of a major effort by our Alaska staff.
Bill’s blog post on the subject of Alaska OCS can be found here. In it, he calls for an immediate “time out” on all new offshore leasing in Bristol Bay and the Arctic Ocean, for more scientific study of the species and ecosystems at risk in this fragile Arctic environment, and for a comprehensive Arctic climate and energy policy that moves away from oil and toward more sustainable, renewable sources of energy.
For more on this subject, check out the blog post from our Alaska staffer Anne Gore here.
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Sam Goldman
Sam has been with The Wilderness Society since Fall 2007. He came most recently from M+R Strategic Services in Washington, DC where he worked with national environmental groups to improve their online campaign work and field organizing capacity. Before that, Sam was the Assistant National Field Director for U.S. PIRG where he covered a variety of issues including the fight to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
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