Proponents of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge were stunned today as Republican House Leadership was forced to pull legislation authorizing oil and gas exploration in the Arctic, according to the Episcopal Church Office of Government Relations in Washington. Debate was about to begin on H.R. 4529 (Arctic Coastal Plain Domestic Energy Security and Abandoned Mind Lands Reclamation Reform Act, which included the coastal plain of Alaska) when the House abruptly recessed. Fearing the vote would fail, leadership aides indicated that it was unlikely the House would have time to bring it back to the floor this week.
The Episcopal Church strongly opposes drilling in the Arctic Coastal Plain, land sacred to the Gwich’in, a native people of Alaska. Reliant for centuries on what is now the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the Gwich'in are ninety percent Episcopalian explaining one important aspect of the special obligation the Church has in advocating on behalf of their sacred spaces. The Arctic was the subject of an Episcopal Public Policy Network (EPPN) alert to encourage Episcopalians to write, fax or call their House members of Congress before the vote.
In an attempt to capitalize on high gas prices during an extremely politically polarized year, leaders in the House were reconsidering previously passed energy legislation this week. Similar legislation to drill in the Arctic narrowly won support in the chamber last fall during consideration of the Energy Bill. The U.S. Senate has defeated legislation to open the Arctic for oil and gas exploration twice in the past two years.
Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold and the Bishop Mark L. MacDonald of Alaska issued a joint statement June 15 regarding the pending vote.
"Around the world, we often see that it is easy to ignore the concerns of small groups of peoples in the face of the modern nation-states' overwhelming needs for oil to lubricate economic development," the statement said. "In response to this mixed history, religious institutions must now commit to an advocacy of the highest standards."
Drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge threatens the Porcupine Caribou that the Gwich’in have depended on for survival and culture for 10,000 years. It would ruin a pristine wildlife sanctuary for less oil than the U.S. uses in six months. According to the Department of Energy, drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge will do nothing to lower gas prices. Potential oil from the Arctic would take an estimated 10 years to reach markets and have no impact on the price of oil or gas.
In a separate effort led by Theodore Roosevelt, IV, grandson of the former President, and Americans for Alaska, a number of Episcopalians joined a broad coalition of prominent Americans who support protection of the Arctic Refuge. Griswold and MacDonald were among the signers that included Bishop Robert R. Shahan of Arizona and President and Dean of Episcopal Divinity School, Bishop Steven Charleston.
The General Convention of the Episcopal Church, the Executive Council and the House of Bishops have issued repeated resolutions and statements calling on the U.S. Congress to permanently protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and to urge government and industry to consider conservation-based energy strategies that include raising vehicle fuel economy of all vehicles in the United States, increasing funding for mass transit, and investing in renewable energy research and development.
