Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 22, Number 5, 1 May 2005 — No Aloha No Respect [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

No Aloha No Respect

On March 16, 2005, the U.S. Senate voted 51-49 for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Hawai4's Senator Daniel Akaka and Senator Daniel lnouye cast the deciding votes, setting in motion the destruction of the last great wild plaee in America. Most people in Hawai4 and the nation want to protect the Refuge. Who do our senators represent?

The coastal plain ofthe Refuge is a miracle, the birthplace ofmany animah and a source oflife for the Gwich'in and lnupiatpeople. The Senators from Hawai'i elaim that a purported eeonomie benefit for 286 lnupiat of Kaktovik village justifies opening 1.5 million acres ofpristine public land to multi-national oil companies.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife studies found that oil drilling in the calving grounds will harm the Porcupine River caribou herd, whieh has sustained the Gwich'in, the Caribou People, for 20,000 years. Disregarding science, ourSenators endorse transforming the heart ofthe Refuge into an industrial zone, with the infrastructure and pollution of year-round oil production. Their promise of environmental protection is a cruel hoax.