Dear Signers,

A note to update you on the fate of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

We support any and all legislation that is promising towards an environmentally sustainable future. That said, we were extremely disappointed in the passage of an Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which was stripped of the provisions it originally had to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. With the current situation in Congress there is little we can expect in terms of legislative protection for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, that is what made the elimination of protection from the IRA bill so devastating.

In light of this we are aligning with efforts being made in the private sector to prevent oil and gas drilling in the Arctic. The most exciting current developments in terms of protection for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge are in two areas:

1. The public pressure on oil companies to not drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: This pressure led all of the oil companies that acquired leases during the Trump Administration's ANWR lease sale to return those leases back to the government. Of the original holders of leases the only entity left holding a drilling lease in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is the The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, a public corporation that provides financial assistance to businesses. Much to be pleased about in this category!

2. The public pressure on insurance companies to not insure drilling projects in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge:

Our fellow activists at the Sierra Club have been focusing on organizing in Hartford CT(insurance central) and pressuring insurance companies like Travelers, Chubb, and The Hartford. Here's some press from that: https://www.ctpost.com/hartford/article/Environmentalists-push-CT-insurance-giants-to-cut-17424073.php

On November 10th Sierra Club activists are planning a petition delivery outside The Travelers headquarters in Hartford CT.  Through the link below you can join thousands of others in asking The Travelers Insurance Group to; NOT INSURE OIL DRILLING PROJECTS IN The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge:

 https://act.sierraclub.org/actions/National?actionId=AR0357858&id=7013q000002JZBWAA4

Please join us in taking one more step towards functional protection for The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Thanks as always for your support,