arctic national wildlife refuge

3 Oil Companies Pull Out of Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

3 Oil Companies Pull Out of Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Three oil companies have canceled their leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.  Drilling in the refuge has long been a controversial issue, as the 19.5-million-acre wilderness area is home to 45 species of mammals including polar bears, bowhead whales and caribou and considered sacred by the Indigenous Gwich’in people, according to the Gwich’in Steering […]

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    12 Trump Attacks on the Environment Since the Election

    12 Trump Attacks on the Environment Since the Election

    By Tara Lohan In the aftermath of the Nov. 3 election, President Donald Trump has tried every trick in the book to avoid facing the reality of his loss. A barrage of lawsuits accompanied by disinformation campaigns has attempted to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the election. But a close look at regulatory actions […]

    Trump Plans ‘Going Out of Business’ Sale With Arctic Drilling Leases

    Trump Plans ‘Going Out of Business’ Sale With Arctic Drilling Leases

    By Julia Conley Conservation campaigners on Thursday accused President Donald Trump of taking a “wrecking ball” to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as the White House announced plans to move ahead with the sale of drilling leases in the 19 million-acre coastal preserve, despite widespread, bipartisan opposition to oil and gas extraction there. Seven weeks […]

    Bank of America Promises It Won’t Fund Arctic Drilling

    Bank of America Promises It Won’t Fund Arctic Drilling

    After ongoing pressure from environmental groups and Indigenous communities, Bank of America has said it will not finance any oil and gas exploration in the Arctic, making it the last major U.S. financial institution to do so. The decision is especially significant because outgoing President Donald Trump has opened up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge […]

    Trump Rushes To Sell Oil Drilling Leases in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

    Trump Rushes To Sell Oil Drilling Leases in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

    The lame duck Trump administration is making a rushed last-minute push to sell leases to oil companies in the long-protected Arctic National Wildlife Refuge before Inauguration Day, numerous outlets reported. On Monday, the Interior Department issued a “call for nominations” asking oil companies to request specific parcels of land to be made available for drilling. […]

    Climate Change, Oil Development Threaten Alaska’s Polar Bears

    Climate Change, Oil Development Threaten Alaska’s Polar Bears

    By Jennie Gosché In late 2019, before the world was completely upended by the COVID-19 pandemic, I was presented a last-minute chance to photograph polar bears outside one of the northernmost villages in the United States — Kaktovik, Alaska. It was an opportunity I couldn’t refuse, and as the COVID-19 pandemic now stretches into summer […]

    Goldman Sachs Is First U.S. Big Bank to Divest From Arctic Oil and Gas

    Goldman Sachs Is First U.S. Big Bank to Divest From Arctic Oil and Gas

    Goldman Sachs, one of the world’s largest investment banks, gave a minor victory to the divestment movement by declaring that it will not fund an new arctic oil explorations, as CNN reported. Citing the importance of the Arctic’s fragile ecosystem and its importance to indigenous populations, the investing giant said it will decline investing in […]