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the arctic national wildlife refuge or
anwar for short
is the last true arctic wilderness in
north america
a landscape of overwhelming scope and
breathtaking beauty
where an amazing variety of animals
thrives
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recently president trump's
administration finalized its plan to
open up
part of the arctic national wildlife
refuge to oil and gas development
is it true that you have anwar in the
bill i said i don't know who cares
what is what is that the decision
puts this unique piece of american
coastline at risk of being damaged
forever
can the arctic wilderness survive this
attack
anwar covers 80 000 square kilometers of
untouched arctic habitat
located in the far northeastern corner
of alaska
in 1960 president dwight d eisenhower
designated this region a protected area
and in 1980 president jimmy carter
expanded the area of land protected
giving it the name arctic national
wildlife refuge
most of the land was designated a
protected wilderness
excluding a substantial part of the
coastline
due to political pressure the so-called
1002 area
was left unprotected why because it's
believed to contain
billions of barrels of oil and ever
since the 80s
the 1002 area has been the center of
heated political debate
for decades the american public agreed
that the remaining
coastal plain should be left in its
natural state
this belief was supported by political
action from both
parties but in december 2017
the efforts were threatened by an
amendment to the 2017 tax bill
this is a bright day for alaska this is
a bright day for america
the republican-led congress voted to
lift the 40-year-old ban on energy
development
and now three years later the trump
administration is opening up anwar to
drilling
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it's a move that will allow the
auctioning off of oil and gas rights in
the heart of one of the nation's most
iconic wild areas
for thousands of years giant herds of
caribou have roamed these mountains and
grasslands
every spring they journey more than a
thousand kilometers to find the best
possible place to give birth to their
calves
for caribou the arctic coastal plain is
their most important calving ground
anwar is often referred to as america's
last
great wilderness it's home to more than
270 species of wildlife
polar bears and musk oxen live here year
round
wolves are out on the prowl a golden
eagle circles the sky
to find food for its chicks and arctic
fox pups tussle with their siblings
millions of birds arrive each year to
nest on the coastal plains
like these snow geese
the long hours of daylight in spring and
summer provide energy for hundreds of
insects
flowers grasses mosses and lichens to
flourish
with winter taking over for nearly nine
months temperatures can drop to 60
degrees below zero
for polar bears this is the time to
replenish their energy reserves and go
hunting on the ice
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but the ice is vanishing as the region
warms up
sea ice snow and permafrost are all
melting
here in the arctic the climate is
changing twice as quickly as anywhere
else on earth
the polar bears in the arctic are
already suffering severely from these
environmental developments
the population in northern alaska has
recently declined
by almost 40 percent
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the arctic refuge is an important
habitat for this species
which relies on its coastal plain to
raise their young
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now the arctic's polar bears are doubly
threatened
the us department of interiors approved
an oil and gas leasing plan that opens
up the arctic national wildlife refuge
for drilling
before the drilling seismic surveys will
take place
to test for potential oil and gas
reserves high pressure vibrations are
sent into the ground the equipment used
to do this is mounted on 40 ton trucks
which can only be used during the winter
when the ground is frozen enough to
support their weight
this is exactly the time of year that
polar bear families spend hidden in
their underground dens
the cubs risk freezing to death if they
leave the warm shelter before they're
three months old
but the noise pollution could scare them
out earlier
the land surrounding the refuge is
already scarred by oil exploration
and the neighboring prude bay oil field
is expanding
ever closer hundreds of thousands of
barrels are extracted there
every day
the protected area itself might soon
face the same
fate the preparations to auction off
drilling leases are being pushed forward
and lease sales could start as early as
the end of 2020.
yet no one knows how many companies will
actually bid for rights to explore the
arctic refuge
five of the largest u.s banks have
already said they won't finance
any anwar project
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opening the refuge to development would
be a severe step backward
in an era in which the world should be
burning less oil
trying to stop global warming and
protecting threatened species
destroying one of the last remaining
areas of true wilderness
is the most self-destructive act
imaginable
hi there i hope this video could get you
a better insight into the fight around
anywhere
trump's decision will not only affect
the os it will affect all of
us so let's support initiatives like
protect the arctic
you can find the link in the description
below and don't forget to subscribe