Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is under attack from oil industry

received this e-mail today. I haven't seen it posted before, but please forgive me if it is a dupe. Please click below to take action against this.

Dear Democrats.com Activist,
One of our last great wild places, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is under fresh attack from the oil industry and their allies in Congress and the Administration. That's why The Wilderness Society has launched an all-out campaign to protect the Arctic wilderness.

But we need your help.

We need to send Congress and the Administration a strong early message that we're NOT going to stand by and watch as America's wild places are sold off to the highest bidder. Click the link below to take action today:

http://mail.democrats.com:81/CT00008401ODU1NTc0.HTML

We can't lose the critical battle to preserve this precious, threatened landscape which is inhabited by wolves, grizzlies, caribou, and millions of migrating birds.

This looming threat is more serious, and more dangerous, than ever before. Anti-wilderness forces in Congress hope to use a backdoor budget process to sneak this giveaway onto the same federal budget the government needs to function. They know that they don't have the votes necessary to enact this ill-conceived plan through the normal legislative process that requires 60 votes to pass such highly controversial measures in the U.S. Senate. The decision to circumvent the normal rules is being made NOW.

Just last week, Rep. Richard Pombo (R-California), a vocal drilling advocate and chairman of the House Resources Committee, claimed that now is “The best chance we've had” to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. (CNN.com, 11/10/2004)

Poll after poll has shown that the American people believe some places are so wild, so special, and so important that they should be off limits to oil drilling. Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would ruin one of America 's last unspoiled and irreplaceable wild places for just a few months worth of oil that won't be available to consumers for ten years! There are far better ways to meet America 's future energy needs, like making our vehicles more efficient and investing in renewable forms for energy.

Please take a moment to remind your Senator that the vast majority of Americans want the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to remain just the way it is: wild, unspoiled, and free of oil rigs.

Click here to take action:
http://mail.democrats.com:81/CT00008401ODU1NTc0.HTML

With your help, we will protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as an unspoiled legacy for future generations.

Thank you,

Kathy Kilmer
Director, Electronic Communications
The Wilderness Society