WOW! 20,000 supporters so far. We MUST keep the momentum going--please don't forget to SHARE! During last week's Senate Committee hearing on ANWR, Rep. Don Young (R-AK) likened the potential drilling area to a dot on his nose. This week, Basile van Havre from the Canadian Wildlife Service responded: "It is probably more accurate to say that this speckle is not on the nose; it is probably right on the heart." Canadian officials have come out strongly against opening ANWR, citing the risk to the ecologically and culturally important porcupine caribou herd. For the caribou, the Gwich'in people call this area "the sacred place where life begins." Even though the herd only uses a small part of the coastal plain now, experts have stated that it is important to protect as much as possible because the herd's range will continue to shift as the climate changes. In addition to the ecological risks, heavy skepticism has begun to surface regarding whether or not oil companies will even be interested in drilling here. And, even if they are, many analysts say that income from the lease sales will not approach anywhere near the estimated $1 billion figure that is being tossed around, and could in reality be closer to $145 million. David Hayes, former deputy secretary of the Clinton administration's Interior Department, says that "there is a great unknown about how much oil is in the refuge, and the economics are not good. The reality is any activity will immediately go deep into litigation, be heavily scrutinized, with reputational risks to the companies. There will be very limited interest." For all these reasons and more, the answer is simple: DO NOT OPEN ANWR FOR DRILLING! The risks are not worth the rewards and the consequences are irreversible. Thank you all for your support!