The long-running battle over the fate of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge may come to a head this week – or then again, it may not. Nothing about this struggle is predictable amid the political turmoil that surrounds the pristine but oil-rich tundra along Alaska’s north coast.
Pro-oil forces won a victory on 3 November when the US Senate voted by a narrow margin to open the 8-million-hectare refuge to oil drilling. Unable to muster the 60 votes needed to override a filibuster, Senate leaders tucked the drilling measure into a budget bill, for which filibusters are not allowed. The measure passed by a bare 51 to 48 margin.
But that is not the end of the story. The House of Representatives is expected to vote on its version of the budget bill this week, and as New ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´ went to press it was not clear whether this would include the drilling approval. The House leadership might instead drop this controversial feature to help the larger bill pass. If that is what they opt for, the fight goes back to square one and the refuge’s caribou, polar bears and other wildlife will stay protected – for now.
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Even if the House passes the bill, conservationists have one more chance because the House and the Senate still have to agree on common wording.
