voornaam -- I can hardly stand to think about what is about to happen in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It literally makes me sick. If we don't stop them, in a matter of weeks SAExploration will use giant "thumper trucks" to begin seismic exploration of a large tract of the tundra. They're doing it in an area where polar bears give birth to their cubs. And they have applied for government-issued permits explicitly to allow them to escape liability for harmful impacts to polar bears and their newborn cubs. All in the name of reckless oil drilling. We have to fight with everything we've got to stop this horrifying scene and keep oil in the ground. Especially as Alaska's delegation is trying to open up EVEN MORE of the Arctic to drilling. We need everyone to stop this tragedy that is unfolding. Please help, voornaam. Make your emergency monthly gift now. Help protect polar bears and everyone who calls the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge home. The arctic winter is closing in and polar bears are building their dens. As arctic ice has retreated, more and more of them are building the shelters where they will give birth on land. Imagine a mother bear and cubs being subjected to repeated pounding that shakes the ground. Giant 90,000 pound "thumper trucks" and other heavy vehicles will prowl across the tundra, repeatedly pounding the earth with the force of 30,000 pounds of pressure. Terrible noise ripping through the sacred silence of the arctic winter night. The ground shaking. We need your help to put a stop to this horror. Time is short. Please become a monthly donor today and we'll send you our insulated cooler tote -- free. Drilling for oil and gas will irreparably damage this beautiful wild place. Even testing will disturb the habitat of the owls, arctic foxes, caribou, and polar bears who have lived here, protected for decades. Why now, when the world is waking up to the effects of climate change, when fossil fuels are being phased out and replaced? The answer is greed and a shocking disregard for the future of the planet. SAExploration documents say that they will avoid any polar bears they detect. But here's the catch: the detection methods they propose are likely to miss half of the dens. This means the company workers are likely to drive heavy vehicles very close to the undetected dens without realizing it until it's too late, disturbing the mothers, and possibly reducing the likelihood of cub survival. They may even run right over the dens, with immediately lethal consequences. Fossil fuels are becoming obsolete as we develop new technologies. We can replace oil and gas with sun and wind and tidal power. But polar bears are irreplaceable. Already stressed by climate change and human encroachment, their numbers grow smaller each year. We must move quickly. Testing is scheduled to begin early this winter. Thank you for your dedication to the preservation of our wild places. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Sincerely, Lena Moffitt Senior Director, Our Wild America Sierra Club PS. If you've recently donated -- THANK YOU, we're still processing gifts. Sources: 1. " Companies take first steps to drill for oil in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge." Washington Post. 1 June 2018. 2. " Plan of Operations: Winter Seismic Survey." SAExploration, Inc. May 2018. 3. " Re: SAExploration Inc. Seismic Application." Sierra Club. 17 August 2018. 4. " Seismic Exploration on the Coastal Plain." Bureau of Land Management. 19 June 2018. 5. " Re: SAExploration Inc. Seismic Application." Sierra Club. 17 August 2018. Photo: Susanne Miller/USFWS. |