FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 7, 2007

Contact: Erika Masonhall, 202-224-4041

Lieberman Leads Opposition to Drilling in ANWR

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) along with 25 of his colleagues, today introduced legislation to protect the coastal plains region of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from the threat of oil and gas exploration. The bill would provide the region with wilderness designation, reaffirming the original intent of the refuge to provide habitat for Alaska's wildlife.

While supporters of drilling in the refuge have touted the coastal plain as the largest potential reserve of domestic oil, the U.S. Geologic Survey estimates the amount of commercially recoverable oil would meet no more than two percent of our nation's use at any given time. Additionally, scientific analyses by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conclude that drilling would severely harm the abundant populations of polar bears, caribou, musk oxen, and snow geese in the refuge.

"America's strength is not in our oil reserves, but in our reserves of innovation," said Lieberman. "The answer is not to drill in our national treasures but to increase our energy efficiency and find alternative and renewable sources of energy.

"I am inspired by Aldo Leopold, a forester and the father of our modern wilderness system who stated, 'Our remnants of wilderness will yield bigger values to the nation's character and health than they will to its pocketbook, and to destroy them will be to admit that the latter are the only values that interest us.'"