HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	271
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

urging the prevention of the sale of oil and gas leases and of drilling in the Chukchi and beaufort Sea Regions of Alaska.

     WHEREAS, the United States' continued reliance on fossil fuels, inability to enact meaningful increases in mandatory vehicle fuel mileage, and failure to utilize alternative energy resources have formed the basis of the current presidential administration's rationalization to sell oil and gas leases and allow oil and gas drilling in the Chukchi and Beaufort Sea regions of Alaska; and

     WHEREAS, the United States Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service, has announced that it will sell oil and gas leases on nearly thirty million acres in the Chukchi Sea region; and

     WHEREAS, the areas proposed to be leased include habitats for polar bears and other Arctic wildlife; and

     WHEREAS, the United States Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, has postponed a long-awaited decision on whether to place the polar bear on the list of threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973; and

     WHEREAS, polar bear populations in Alaska are already in danger from decreasing sea ice due to global warming, and an invasion of their habitat by oil drilling operations would further jeopardize these animals; and

     WHEREAS, native Alaskan and environmental groups have expressed opposition to oil and gas drilling in the Chukchi Sea and Beaufort Sea regions due to dangers to the environment, including potential oil spills and detrimental impacts of seismic testing on marine life; and

     WHEREAS, the United States Department of the Interior failed to fully assess the potential impacts that oil exploration and drilling would have on polar bear, Pacific walrus, and other indigenous animal populations; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2008, the Senate concurring, that the President of the United States, the United States House of Representatives, the United States Senate, and the United States Department of the Interior are urged to prevent oil and gas drilling in the Chukchi Sea region of Alaska; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the President of the United States, the United States House of Representatives, the United States Senate, and the United States Department of the Interior are urged to refrain from the sale of any oil and gas leases in Lease Sale 193 Area of the Alaska Outer Continental Shelf Region and to prohibit oil and gas drilling in the Chukchi Sea and Beaufort Sea regions of Alaska until there is a determination by the Secretary of the Interior as to whether to list the polar bear as an endangered or threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Hawaii's delegation to the Congress of the United States is urged to support legislation such as Senate Bill 2568, Senate Joint Resolution 17, and House Resolution 5058 to prevent leasing of lands in the Chukchi Sea and Beaufort Sea regions of Alaska for oil and gas drilling and prohibit the sale of any oil or gas lease for any tract in Lease Sale 193 Area of the Alaska Outer Continental Shelf Region; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the Secretary of the Interior, and members of Hawaii's delegation to the Congress of the United States.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Oil and Gas Drilling; Alaska; Endangered Species