AIR AND CARIBOU
Will Congress finally address the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska? Also includes oranges to the rescue, tragedy on Guam and book of the month.
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ILLUSTRATIONS BY LINDA BLECK
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EATH DIARY
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Will Congress come through?
By Tom Turner
Election years have a way of distracting politicians from
important legislative decisions, but Congress may
nevertheless come finally to grips with a number of issues
that have been argued over for several years. Two are at
the top of most environmental organizations' agendas.
One concerns the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.
This 19.3-million-acre reserve runs from the Arctic Ocean
on the north across the Brooks Range on the south, from the
Canadian border on the east to the oil fields of Prudhoe
Bay on the west. As it did in Prudhoe Bay, oil has made the
ANWR a national issue.
Development proponents have asked Congress to open the
refuge to oil drilling. They cite national
security—the vulnerability of the Persian Gulf, for
example—and the need to develop domestic energy
resources. Opponents, who hope to have the refuge legally
protected as wilderness, point to Interior Department
estimates that say there is but a 21% chance of discovering
economic quantities of oil and that even if oil is found it
isn't likely to add significantly to the nation's reserves.
They argue that the wildlife there, notably the 200,000
caribou of the Porcupine River herd, deserve statutory
protection and that even exploring for oil would pose
unacceptable threats. Competing bills have been introduced
in both the House and the Senate. Readers' views on the
matter will be welcomed by senators (Senate Office
Building, Washington, D.C. 20510) and members of Congress
(House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515).
The other hot topic along the Potomac just now is clean
air. The Clean Air Act of 1972 was strengthened
considerably in 1977; now environmentalists want it
expanded to take on acid rain and toxic air pollutants
(which are ignored by existing laws) and to get tougher on
smog-producing ozone. Urban areas were supposed to have
solved their ozone problems by January 31, 1987, but none
have done so. Many, in fact, are farther from the goal than
ever. Again, your elected representatives will welcome your
views on any of these matters.
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