Jane Goodall urges U.S. Senate to halt quest for Arctic refuge oil

British primatologist JaneGoodall sent a letter to every U.S. senator on Tuesday urgingthem to oppose a push in the U.S. Congress to allow oil drillingin Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a regionenvironmentalists say is one of the world's last paradises.

The Republican-led Senate is trying to open up the 1002region on the coastal plain of the ANWR, a region inhabited byGwich'in natives, caribou herds, polar bears and millions ofbirds that migrate to six of the world's seven continents.

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"If we violate the Arctic Refuge by extracting the oilbeneath the land, this will have devastating impact for theGwich'in people for they depend on the caribou herds to sustaintheir traditional way of life," Goodall said in the letter, acopy of which was seen by Reuters.

The ANWR's "very wildness speaks to our deeply rootedspiritual connection to nature, a necessary element of humanpsyche," wrote Goodall, best known for her study of chimpanzeesin Tanzania.

Last week, a group of 37 U.S.-based scientists whoseresearch focuses on Arctic wildlife asked senators to not open the ANWR, saying that drilling would be "incompatible with thepurposes for which the refuge was established."

The Senate energy committee on Wednesday will consider abill spurred by Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaskaand the head of the panel, to hold at least two lease sales inthe ANWR over the next 10 years.

Democrats fighting bill

Some Native Alaskans support drilling believing it willprovide jobs. Matthew Rexford, a member of the Inupiat tribe andthe tribal administrator of the village of Kaktovik, has said hebelieves technological advances mean drilling can be performedwith little impact to the land.

The administration of President Donald Trump is pursuing apolicy to make the country "energy dominant" by maximizing oil,gas and coal production. Republicans say the 1002 portion of theANWR is a "non-wilderness area" because the government put itaside decades ago for drilling.

Republicans have attached the ANWR measure to budgetlegislation, which needs only 50 votes to pass the Senate, butfaces hurdles with many provisions being added to it.

Democrats are fighting the ANWR bill saying that Republicansare trying to sneak it through the budget process, and that itwould not survive as stand-alone legislation that would need 60votes to pass.

Senator Maria Cantwell, the top Democrat on the energycommittee, told Reuters she was urging her fellow lawmakers tolisten to scientists.

"Does it take the voice of Jane Goodall to beg Senators tostop hurting indigenous people and animals?" asked Cantwell.

"She's calling on them to set a conservation example instead ofcreating the next tragedy."

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