In the Wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, What are Americans Willing to Sacrifice for Oil?

In the Wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, What are Americans Willing to Sacrifice for Oil?

Award-winning Documentary OIL ON ICE Explores the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Debate as Legislative Vote Looms Near

'OIL ON ICE is the definitive film about the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.' - Neil Young

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- In the aftermath of one of the worst tragedies imaginable, OIL ON ICE (www.oilonice.org) co-director and producer Dale Djerassi asks America a hard question, "Do you really believe drilling for oil in our nation's protected wild places will minimize our vulnerability to the devastation of a natural disaster like Hurricane Katrina or human error like the Exxon Valdez oil spill?"

Oil drilling proponents and key lawmakers are citing the recent hurricane damage as cause for relaxing a federal ban on new drilling off California and the Atlantic Seaboard and to encourage energy prospecting in the Rocky Mountains. Congressional proposals also aim to waive some air pollution rules to encourage expansion of oil refineries and to authorize oil drilling beneath Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. (LA Times, October 3, 2005)

Drilling proponents say that had drilling in the Refuge already been in place, Katrina's disruption of domestic oil supply wouldn't have been as bad. The reality is that if we decrease rather than increase our dependence on oil, we won't be as vulnerable to this kind of social, economic and environment devastation (or to events in the Middle East and elsewhere) in the future.

The Arctic Refuge sits at the symbolic center of the national energy debate because opening it to drilling would not only destroy a place Americans have voted decade after decade to protect, but is also seen as a first step to oil industry access to many more of our country's protected wild places including the coasts of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and possibly the West Coast, in areas previously guarded by a moratorium.

According to the Department of Energy's own analysis, drilling in the Refuge wouldn't lower gas prices in the short term, and would only net consumers about a penny a gallon at peak production in 2025. Twenty years from now, gas prices would be just as high, the United States would still be importing most of its oil, and there would be an industrial wasteland where a wildlife refuge used to be. (National Resources Defense Council)

"It is important that Americans are informed by facts and not by fear," said Djerassi. "Don't be fooled. The fact is we cannot drill our way to energy independence, but we can turn to existing technologies like fuel-efficient vehicles and renewable energy sources to help minimize our dependence on fossil fuels."

OIL ON ICE is a visually stunning journey that goes behind the headlines to the heart of the matter ... the people, place and wildlife that would be permanently damaged by oil drilling infrastructure and activity. It shows what news headlines and sound bytes cannot -- a national treasure that is at risk of being sacrificed for an energy plan that is both short-sighted and fatally flawed.

"We cannot afford to lose our country's irreplaceable wilderness, wildlife and indigenous cultures to our insatiable thirst for oil," said OIL ON ICE co-director and producer Bo Boudart. "OIL ON ICE gives voice to the land, wildlife and Native Gwich'in Indians who will be affected by oil drilling and also provides tools that enable concerned citizens to take action to make their voices heard."

Distributed by Warner Home Video and Lightyear Entertainment, the OIL ON ICE DVD with Grassroots Action Toolkit is now available nationwide at video stores and retailers like Hollywood Video, Wal-Mart and Borders, and online at sites like Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com. National satellite television broadcasts are scheduled for October 6 at 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT and October 23at 10 p.m.ET/7 p.m. PT onLinkTV (www.linktv.org). It can also be seen on many local public television stations across the country.

OIL ON ICE is a Dale Djerassi/Bo Boudart Production in association with Lobitos Creek Ranch.

Source: OIL ON ICE

CONTACT: Heather Raney, +1-415-593-0192, or heather@raneyinc.com, for OIL ON ICE

Web site: http://www.linktv.org/

Web site: http://www.oilonice.org/

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