Target: Sidney Runyan Thomas, Chief Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Goal: Praise decision to protect crucial polar bear habitat from oil and gas development.
Almost 200,000 square miles of Alaska’s Arctic Circle will continue to be protected from harmful activities such as coal mining and oil drilling. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit overturned a decision by a lower court that would have allowed people in the fossil fuel industry to destroy 187,000 square miles of land. However, now a large part of the Alaska North Slope region will remain untouched thanks to many heroic activists such as those in the ForceChange community. We need to thank court officials for making sure the Arctic stays as pristine as possible.
The reversal of this decision is not only great news for conservationists, but it is also fantastic news for polar bears that are quickly losing their habitat to global warming. The news is also celebratory because it will now be more difficult for oil and gas companies to get federal permits that would allow for destructive activities like offshore drilling to take place.
Sign this petition to thank the court for realizing just how important it is to protect polar bears and fragile Arctic habitat. If we continue to work together, we have the power to conserve massive amounts of land and save many animals from extinction.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Chief Judge Thomas,
The court recently made a decision to not allow harmful fossil fuel activities like oil drilling and coal mining to take place in crucial polar bear Arctic habitat. It is important that you know how much of a positive impact making this decision will have on both animals and the environment.
Polar bears will now be able to thrive in massive areas of the Alaska North Slope region. It is even possible that they may one day no longer be considered a threatened species because of climate change, since not allowing things like oil drilling in this part of the Arctic will keep large ice masses from melting. Polar bears will therefore have a much easier time hunting for food, rather than dying because their home is quickly becoming nonexistent. Additionally, it is great news that large corporations will now have a much more difficult time getting permits to perform activities that destroy the environment such as coal mining.
We as a strong activist community would like to express our profound thanks to the court for choosing to protect both crucial Arctic habitat and majestic polar bears. It is decisions like the one you made that will help to ensure that this beautiful planet will still be here for our children to enjoy.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Arturo de Frias Marques
