Aeron Rundell
Eighth-grader
Sartell
Trump will stop at nothing. Because of him, 23 million acres of pristine Arctic tundra are threatened by oil and natural-gas drilling. Trump eagerly signed a June 17 executive decision to reinstate drilling in the National Petroleum Reserve Alaska. Like a greedy child, Trump feeds on the struggles of others at the expense of democracy and the American willingness to achieve great things as a unified people.
The Reserve began as a federal initiative in 1923 to set aside resource-rich land for emergency purposes. While originally seen as a safeguard against our economic troubles in the contiguous 48 states, the government recognized the Reserve’s scenic eminence as “valuable.” In 1976, the land changed ownership to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
Drilling in the early days of the Reserve was limited to 11.7 million acres. Under Trump, oil and natural gas will be extracted from 18.5 million acres of once-protected land.
The ecological consequences of open drilling will be catastrophic. Caribou, moose, shorebirds and other migratory animals depend on the shelter and grazing that land provides. New pipelines and unregulated drilling practices will threaten ground-water supply and ruin land so vital for those animals.
Native Alaskans will lose their lands they have inhabited peacefully for millennia. Trump is resorting to the same back-stabbing behavior he has shown toward our veterans.
With actions taken by Trump and his followers, we are losing the forests, grasslands and tundra that once made up our country in the time of Native Americans. What will be left to pass onto our grandkids?
