Seattle photographer Subhanker Banerjee has included this photo and more in a stunning ANWR exhibit currently at the Field Museum in Chicago. It comes to Seattle in June.
March 2005
Public Domain
Checking access to places and spaces
Public Domain takes a trip this month to a wide-open public space. During the Congressional recess last August, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D.-Ill.) camped out at the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Durbin is a leading advocate (along with Sen. Barbara Boxer of California) of protecting the Refuge from commercial use.
Imagine that: keeping a Refuge as a refuge. Here is Durbin’s journal entry from the trip:
“We climb over the Brooks Range and follow the Canning River, the western boundary of the ANWR. I am struck by the vast untouched expanse in every direction.
“Weather barrels through this corner of the world like a fast freight train. In a 45-minute period, a dense morning fog falls away and the bright sun in a cloudless sky gives us a clear view of the distant mountains. On another morning, a biting wind blows horizontal rain against our billowing cook tent and in minutes turns to snow, then sleet, then sun.
Hiking across the spongy tundra, tramping down the mini-moguls, we find larkspur, patches of cotton grass, Arctic ground squirrel warrens and tufts of grizzly bear hair. There is little sign of human contact.
“Across the Canning River we spot a dark object in the distance moving steadily along the banks. We quickly mount a telescope and see it is a massive bull musk ox.
“President Bush believes that America’s energy appetite is so compelling that we must abandon a 50-year commitment to preserve this untouched corner of our nation. In 1960, President Dwight D. Eisenhower established the ANWR, declaring this area an important national treasure to be protected in perpetuity. But President Bush has proposed several decades of development and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to deliver a six-month supply of our nation’s energy needs.
“Standing on the banks of the Canning River, one wonders whether our super-size, use-it-and-toss-it generation is not displaying a shortsightedness and selfishness that is a sad lesson for our children.
“An amendment I offered to the energy bill would have required automakers to build more fuel-efficient cars over the next 10 years. According to the National Academy of Sciences, cars averaging 40 miles per gallon are attainable with current technology. My amendment for fuel-efficient vehicles would have saved over 10 times the amount of oil we could glean from ANWR.
“The amendment was opposed by the White House, the oil companies, automakers and their unions. The final vote fell short by a 32-64 margin.
“The voices for conservation and responsible environmental stewardship were drowned out by the roar of special-interest groups on Capitol Hill.”
The measure that would allow Arctic drilling is expected to come up for a U.S. Senate vote in mid-March.To get involved: www.AlaskaCoalition.org or call 202-628-1843.
![[Send]](http://seattle.consciouschoice.com/sendlink/send.gif){kind=small}
Recommend this page to a friend
Top Ten pages recommended to friends:
