We all know the oil industry has a terrible environmental record. Oil spills, gas flaring, gravel mining, vehicle traffic, toxic waste the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would be changed forever. In the misguided quest for oil in this area, wild species and their habitat could potentially be ruined forever. The refuge is home to 45 species of mammals including gray wolves, arctic foxes, lynx, moose, caribou, walrus, seals, endangered bowhead and other whales, and bears. In the coming months we will find out whether Congress will blindly pursue the shortsighted, imprudent quest for oil in ANWR, doing irreparable harm to one of the last great, pristine wildernesses in America.
Caribou live in arctic regions of Alaska and Canada.
Oil and gas development on their calving grounds and migration routes jeopardize the herds.