The Los Angeles Times reports that Department of the Interior announced plans today (Aug 17) to sell leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). The sales of leases could start by the end of this year. In 2017, Congress passed a law requiring the sale of leases by the end of 2021. The Department of Interior could take a narrow or broad view of the law, and decided to make a broad interpretation and sell leases in the entire coastal plain.
If you are wondering if drilling in the Arctic could impact those of us in the Southeast, the answer is YES. This decision will have major impacts on our health, even in the Southeast.
1. Drilling more oil and gas will lead to more methane and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released into the air from leaks to wells, pipes, processing and distribution of the oil and gas. The methane and VOCs will accelerate climate change. Burning the fossil fuel will create more carbon dioxide and CO2, which will accelerate climate change. Drilling more fossil fuel is the opposite of what we need to be doing to address climate change.
2. As a result of accelerating climate change, the Southeast will have more heatwaves, extreme hurricanes, flooding, and wildfires that disrupt our lives, create air pollution, and threaten lives and health. Climate change has already intensified storms such as Florence, Irma, and Michael and this new drilling will make it worse. The Southeast has experienced wildfires, heatwaves, and flooding in just the last few years and this decision will create even more threats to our health.
3. The methane and VOCs will be carried on the wind hundreds of miles from the drills and create air pollution far from ANWR.
4. The drilling activities could thaw permafrost in addition to the thawing caused by climate change. This could release even more methane and other climate harming chemicals that are currently frozen in the permafrost.
There will be an opportunity for public comment about this, which we will share. Please keep reading our blogs for more details when they’re available.
