The Senate blocked oil drilling in an Alaska wildlife refuge Wednesday, rejecting a must-pass defense spending bill where supporters positioned the quarter-century-old environmental issue to garner broader support, according to the Associated Press.

Drilling backers fell four votes short of getting the required 60 votes to avoid a threatened filibuster of the defense measure over the oil drilling issue. Senate leaders were expected to withdraw the legislation so it could be reworked without the refuge language. The vote was 56-44.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist was among those who for procedural reasons cast a "no" vote, so that he could bring the drilling issue up for another vote.

The vote was a stinging defeat for Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, who for years has waged an intense fight to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He had thought this time he would finally get his wish.

Stevens called the refuge's oil vital to national security and bemoaned repeated attempts over the years by opponents using the filibuster to kill drilling proposals.

Democrats, conversely, accused Stevens of holding hostage a military spending bill that includes money to support troops in Iraq and $29 billion for victims of Hurricane Katrina.

"Our military is being held hostage by this issue, Arctic drilling," fumed Sen. Harry Reid, the Democratic leader. The Nevada Democrat said the Senate could move quickly to pass the defense bill once the refuge issue was resolved.

"We all agree we want money for our troops. ... This is not about the troops," said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., a strong critic of letting oil development disturb the refuge in northeastern Alaska.

Posted by Glynn Wilson at 01:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A broad coalition of grassroots conservation groups from across the country is organizing a new push in the fight to keep the Bush administration and oil corporations from opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, according to Drew McConville of The Wilderness Society.

Because of provisions included in the upcoming Budget Reconciliation Bill that will be voted on in late September, the vote on the Budget will be "the most critical vote on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge that we have faced in 25 years," McConville said. "We have to win."

A special Arctic Refuge Action Day will be held September 20 in Washington, D.C., he said, where thousands of people will gather on the West Lawn of the Capitol and send the message to Congress that there are some places that are too special to ruin with oil drilling.

"As you know, this is a critical issue for Americans who care about conservation and a clean environment," McConville said. "And as Tom Delay has said, it’s not just about drilling in Alaska, 'It's about precedent.'"

Sign-up page for Arctic Refuge Action day

Groups involved include the Sierra Club, National Resources Defense Council, National Wildlife Federation, National Wildlife Fund, World Wildlife Fund, and others.

Theme: Don't Drill, Storm Capitol Hill!
Name: Arctic Refuge Action Day
When: September 20, 2005 - 11 a.m.
Where: West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol

www.ArcticRefugeAction.org/takeaction/ARADay.html

Posted by Glynn Wilson at 01:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This just in from a reader.

Special vans emblazoned with images of polar bears and caribou will be crisscrossing the country this summer, mobilizing support for protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The van tours were officially launched today in Washington, D.C., and the first of the vans was cheered by a crowd of enthusiastic supporters as it took to the road for a six-week tour of communities across the northeastern United States. A second van is touring the upper Midwest, and is currently in Minneapolis, according to this release from the Arctic Refuge Action group.

Posted by Glynn Wilson at 04:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)