Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life Praises Senate Vote on ANWR

Washington, DC (April 18, 2002) - The Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life praised today's U.S. Senate votes to protect the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge. The Arctic Refuge is a national treasure and a wilderness sanctuary and is not a viable option for securing America's energy needs into the future.

The chair of the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL), Sharon Bloome, said, "We are thankful for the outcome of today's Senate vote concerning drilling in the Wildlife Refuge. The overwhelming majority of Jewish organizations oppose drilling in environmentally sensitive areas, including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), and strongly favor conservation and alternative clean energy and technology development as the way to accomplish increased American energy independence. Energy independence doesn't go through the Arctic wilderness; it goes through America's industrial heartlands where we can invent and build a 21st century energy system that is secure, efficient, and clean."

Arguments made in recent weeks by leaders in the Senate claiming that drilling in the Wildlife Refuge would be a major step toward U.S. energy independence failed to sway enough Senators to pass the amendment. The Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life, in which 29 national Jewish organizations participate, and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, in which 122 local and 13 national organizations participate, opposed the view that ANWR should be opened to oil exploration. COEJL supports aggressive conservation measures, clean energy development, and new technology development. The cloture vote failed by a margin of 54-46.