BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Standing beside a student dressed in an inflatable polar bear costume Friday morning, Matt Docalovich talked about fear.
“We’re here today to say that Arctic drilling is scary and we need to stop any attempts to destroy this one-of-a-kind landscape,” Docalovich, organizer for the Alaska Wilderness League, said.
“The idea of drilling in one of our country’s last truly wild places is frightening.”
Docalovich was joined by a handful of Lehigh University students — several in costumes — Halloween morning at the city’s Sculpture Garden on North New Street to call on Congress to permanently protect the Arctic from drilling, as well as to drum up support from Lehigh Valley residents.
“The Arctic is already warming twice as fast as the majority of Earth, and oil and gas drilling would only cause this to increase."Nora Kirby, a senior at Lehigh Unviersity
Nora Kirby, a senior at Lehigh, described Arctic drilling as “a fear of mine that’s more scary and more real than any ghost story being shared today.”
“The Arctic is already warming twice as fast as the majority of Earth, and oil and gas drilling would only cause this to increase,” Kirby said.
“It is impossible to justify ruining some of the last untouched, pristine land in the nation simply for the possibility of oil.”
‘It belongs to all of us’
As the federal government shutdown continues — with the cutoff of SNAP and WIC benefits starting in November — legislators and officials are advancing plans to drill in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
The refuge, in the northwest part of the state, is about the size of South Carolina. Demonstrators described it as “one of the very last great wildernesses in America.”
“These are some of our last remaining untouched public lands. It belongs to all of us, and we should have a say in how it is managed.”Matt Docalovich, organizer for the Alaska Wilderness League
“This area is home to immense cultural and biological diversity, from caribou to polar bears to millions of migratory birds flying overhead, some species which travel through the Lehigh Valley,” Docalovich said.
“These are some of our last remaining untouched public lands. It belongs to all of us, and we should have a say in how it is managed.”
Last week, President Donald Trump and his administration finalized plans to open the coastal plain of the refuge to potential oil and gas drilling, according to the Associated Press.
The decision, announced by U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, “paves the way for future lease sales within the refuge’s 1.5 million-acre (631,309 hectare) coastal plain, an area that’s considered sacred by the Indigenous Gwich’in,” according to the report.
“The lease sales that have been re-established open this land to testing for oil and gas, and possible drilling,” Kirby said.
“This would mean an industrial takeover of this rare, wild land, complete with noise pollution, light pollution, construction and, of course, the drilling itself.”
And, before adjourning Thursday without a vote to re-open the federal government, the Senate voted to overturn a Biden-era plan that would have restricted Arctic drilling, according to The Hill.
The vote was 52-45, with U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., joining Republicans in voting in favor.
“We’re pretty surprised and appalled that the Senate continues to push these votes through despite a government shutdown,” Docalovich said.
‘Pennsylvanians are standing up’
In the past two months, the Alaska Wilderness League’s Arctic Defense Campaign has collected more than 1,000 signatures from Valley residents, adding to calls from across the country to permanently protect the Arctic.
“Pennsylvanians are standing up and calling on their elected officials to protect this area, which we know is too special to drill in,” Docalovich said.
“Today, we are calling on [U.S. Rep.] Ryan Mackenzie and [U.S. Sen.] John Fetterman to join their constituents in opposing any efforts to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.”
"It's too special an ecosystem for us to destroy for oil and gas, and it's time that we finally get permanent protections for it.”Matt Docalovich, organizer for the Alaska Wilderness League
Mackenzie, R-Lehigh Valley, has continued to blame Democrats for the government shutdown.
Senate Democrats have insisted they will not vote to temporarily fund the government unless Republicans vote to extend tax subsidies for the Affordable Care Act that expire at the end of the year.
Republicans have refused to budge but lack the votes to pass the bill on their own.
After the demonstration, participants left the garden to door-knock and speak with residents, hoping to collect more signatures.
“I think the bottom line is just that this area is way too special to drill in,” Docalovich said.
“The Arctic wilderness has been wilderness for so long. It's too special an ecosystem for us to destroy for oil and gas, and it's time that we finally get permanent protections for it.”
For more information on the campaign, go to the Arctic Defense Campaign’s website.
