On March 16, the US Senate approved opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, voting 51 to 49 to defeat an attempt to remove ANWR drilling allowance from the budget bill. The oil industry believes that there are billions of gallons of oil in the plains of the animal refuge in north-eastern Alaska. In 2003, a study by the National Academy of Sciences found that drilling would have a significant negative impact on the caribou, bears, and snow geese that are protected in the sanctuary, and that the impact would extend throughout the plain. A December Zogby poll showed 55% of US residents opposed drilling in the refuge, while just 35% supported it.

From Green Left Weekly, March 23, 2005.
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