Header photo: A surface mooring deployed by the Ocean Observatories Initiative. Credit: Sheri N. White © WHOI, Image from work supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation Ocean Observatories Initiative.

Oil, and humanity’s dependency on it, has dominated global media headlines this month. Now, our country’s most pristine ecosystems in the Western Arctic is being dragged into that same extractive-focused conversation.

Late last week, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) held the first lease sale in National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A) since 2019. Another lease sale in the NPR-A is on the horizon this July, thus we must make our collective voice louder to ensure giants like ConocoPhillips – who already operates the controversial Willow Project on Alaska’s North Slope – know their sales won’t go unnoticed by Americans.

This first sale drew 430 bids on 187 tracts totaling 1,334,967 acres and brought in $163.7 million in winning bids (summary of what companies paid for these leases). These areas leased include land set aside to protect local community subsistence needs, critical wildlife habitat and designated Special Areas (map of the leases sold).

Below are two way we can take action against Big Oil and protect the NRP-A:

Action 1) Join in on the #NoArcticLicense coordinated social media pressure campaign, by showing up directly in the comments section of oil companies’ posts, namely ConocoPhillips.

• Here is a toolkit and press release by Alaska Wilderness League to learn more. Take inspiration from this series by local artist, Rachel Phol!
• More context on ConocoPhillips: An already dominate industrial giant in the Western Arctic, ConocoPhillips leases 1 million acres through the Willow project and recently bid on parcels immediately adjacent to it – seeking to reclaim those very acres makes clear it has no intention of honoring the “smaller footprint” commitment it made when the project was approved. The company made headlines after a recent drilling rig they had under contract collapsed and caught fire outside the NPR-A boundary, and for their pursuit of a controversial drill site just two miles from the community of Nuiqsut.

Action 2) In-Person Action this week in Portland and Houston.

• Houston: Attend CERAWeek, Big Oil’s biggest gathering of leadership, including in-person demonstrations and another Peoples’ Hearing.
• Portland: Join Alaska Wilderness League and local community partners on Thursday, March 26th from 6-8pm to learn what’s at stake and share testimony that will help demonstrate opposition to drilling. RSVP here!

Currently in California, Governor Newsom is pushing a dangerous deal that would gut environmental protections for our rivers by carving out a special CEQA exemption for the state’s Water Quality Control Plan. This plan is supposed to be California’s basic blueprint for how much water must stay in rivers to protect fish, wildlife, and communities. It’s meant to ensure clean water for people and enough flowing water for salmon and other species to survive.

If passed, this CEQA exemption would be the final straw for already struggling salmon runs, in addition to devastating the communities, Tribes, and local economies that depend on healthy rivers and fisheries. The Governor is turning his back on this science-based framework and siding with powerful water interests that want to build the Delta Tunnel (a massive, multi-billion-dollar project that would divert water from the Sacramento River before it flows into the Bay-Delta). The tunnel would send even more water south, leaving salmon runs, Tribes, fishing families, and the Bay-Delta ecosystem high and dry.

Take Action in Two Ways Right Now:

1. Call your State Assembly Member and State Senator today
   Find your Representatives here and use the following script, “Please oppose any trailer bills that give CEQA exemptions to the Water Quality Control Plan or supports the Delta Tunnels. These exemptions would weaken water quality protections, push more water into the Delta Tunnel, and doom California’s wild salmon population. Please protect our rivers, our fisheries, and our communities.”
2. Maximize your impact by sending an email here!

Photo by Bangkok Post.

On December 17th, The Department of Energy released their long-awaited analysis on liquefied natural gas (LNG) impacts on our environment and frontline communities. The results of the analysis reinforce what we have known for years: LNG exports are bad for our planet and bad for our people.

Six proposed LNG terminals or expansions have been approved by a federal regulator and are now seeking DOE licenses to export fracked gas to Asia and Europe.  Approving more export licenses — or leaving the decision to a future Trump Administration — would sacrifice lives in the Gulf, devastate local economies, raise domestic energy prices, and worsen climate change impacts.

This is a pivotal moment. The Department of Energy’s the opportunity to strengthen President Biden’s climate and environmental justice legacy by making it clear that LNG exports are not compatible with our climate goals.Our planet and people must be prioritized over corporate profits and special interests. We must act now and urge the Department of Energy to reject the pending LNG export permits before the change in administration.

TAKE ACTION NOW! Comments close in 90 days, now is the time to use your voice against liquefied natural gas and its harmful impacts on the environment and people, let the Department of Energy know we are all watching and care. Press release below:

For Immediate Release: December 18, 2024

Contacts: Elizabeth Purcell, 814-248-5169, elizabeth@seaturtles.org

DOE ANALYSIS CONFIRMS LNG EXPORTS HURT CLIMATE AND COMMUNITIES  

UNITED STATES — The Department of Energy recently released the long-awaited analysis on the impacts of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports on the environment and vulnerable communities. The analysis confirmed what so many frontline leaders and climate activists have been voicing for years: LNG exports harm our planet and our people.

Six proposed LNG terminals or expansions have been approved by a federal regulator and are now seeking DOE licenses to export fracked gas to Asia and Europe. Approving more export licenses—or leaving the decision to a future Trump Administration—would sacrifice lives in the Gulf, devastate local economies, raise domestic energy prices, and worsen climate change impacts.

“For years, LNG exports have been prioritizing profit over the health and well-being of frontline communities and our planet,” said Elizabeth Purcell, Environmental Policy Coordinator at Turtle Island Restoration Network. “The Department of Energy’s recent analysis reinforces what frontline communities and climate activists have been urging the country to hear. In his final weeks in office, President Biden has the opportunity to stand with us and reject all pending LNG export permits, protecting both our people and our planet for generations to come.”

The Department of Energy will be accepting public comments on the analysis for 60 days. During this time, activists and frontline leaders will be calling on the Department of Energy to take action by rejecting all pending LNG export permits before the change in administration in January.

To take action, please visit: https://secure.everyaction.com/NbpB7P0G0kmXHSDKrUsgRw2

Turtle Island Restoration Network is a global ocean conservation nonprofit with offices in California and Texas, whose mission is to inspire and mobilize people around the world to protect marine biodiversity and the oceans that sustain all life on Earth.