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Date: March 30, 2005
Contact: Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford
V: 847/742-5100 F:  847/742-6103
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CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN NEWSLINE
March 30, 2005

TO DRILL OR NOT TO DRILL--IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT

By David Radcliff

March 30, 2005 (Elgin, IL) -- The debate over whether or not to drill for
oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge often centers on environmental
concerns. The narrow coastal plain of the 19-million acre preserve--where the
drilling is proposed--is summer home to 130 species of birds, as well as mammals
as diverse as musk ox and polar bears.

And there's the Porcupine Caribou Herd. The herd, numbering some 130,000
animals, heads to the coastal plain each spring to give birth to as many
as 
40,000 calves. As a maternity ward for caribou, this is an ideal spot:
flat so  as
to give warning of predators, with wind to keep mosquitoes at bay, and
with 
plenty of tender plant shoots to nourish calves for their
end-of-the-summer 
departure on a 400-mile migration south.

Arguments for and against drilling turn on how much oil is there (some say
as little as six-months' worth of US demand), whether there are better
ways to
reduce our energy dependence (raising the fuel efficiency of the US
vehicle 
fleet, which remains at 1980 levels), and what the impact will be on wildlife
and the pristine nature of the area--the last five percent of the northern
shore  of Alaska that hasn't been opened to oil exploration.

Over the past several years, I have been learning about another dimension  of
the debate: the effect drilling may have on people 100 miles south of the
coastal plain. The Gwich'in people of Arctic Village, Alaska, who host New
Community Project delegations, have lived in this part of the world for  thousands
of years. They are Native American by birth, Episcopalian by baptism,  and
caribou by culture. In other words, their life revolves around the Porcupine
Caribou Herd as it migrates past their village, and others like theirs.

Caribou is a central part of the Gwich'in diet, providing as much as 75
percent of their food. In earlier times, and to some extent today,
clothing and
tools were derived from the animals. An equally important feature of the
Gwich'in relationship with the caribou can be said to be spiritual. "We have
always been here," says Gwich'in leader Sarah James. "The Creator put us here to
take care of this part of the world."

According to skilled hunter and community leader Charlie Swaney, his
people 
won't go up on the coastal plain to hunt even if they're starving. "We
call it
 `the sacred place where life began.'" There are rules for hunting: not
taking	the female caribou with calves, and not killing the herd's
leaders. Many
members  of the community take part in the hunt itself, setting up camps
on the
mountainside nearby. Being in camp provides an opportunity for tribal elders
to  pass on hunting skills as well as stories of their people to the next
generation.

In an action reminiscent of Paul's admonition to the Corinthians
concerning 
the Lord's Supper, the food that the hunters get is shared with others in the
community. One of our delegations was with a young hunter named Danny Gemmil
when he managed to bag five caribou in one lucky afternoon--just what his
growing family needed to make it through the winter. When the animals were taken
 back to the village, however, they didn't end up in his smokehouse alone.
Before	the end of the day, people from around the community had stopped
by to
congratulate him, and take home a portion for themselves.

To drill or not to drill--that may be the question. But it's about more  than
oil, and our nation's insatiable appetite for it, and the impact drilling  is
bound to have on the ecosystem. It's also about our neighbors the
Gwich'in, 
the life they have lived for millennia, and what they may have to teach us
about  community and the sanctity of God's creation.

Want to do something to preserve the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge?
Write 
Congress to oppose drilling in ANWR and support higher mileage standards for
vehicles (House: Washington, DC 20515; Senate: Washington, DC 20510). Cut down
 on your oil consumption--driving a hybrid vehicle will save 3,500 gallons of
 gasoline in ten years, a bike will save lots more. Visit the Arctic to learn
 about the Gwich'in and their way of life.

--David Radcliff directs the New Community Project, a Church of the
Brethren-related nonprofit organization. He has led delegations to the Arctic  each
summer since 2002. This year New Community Project will hold an Arctic	Village
Learning Tour Aug. 20-29. See _www.newcommunityproject.org_
(http://www.newcommunityproject.org) .

The Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination committed to
continuing the work of Jesus peacefully and simply, and to living out its faith  in
community. The denomination is based in the Anabaptist and Pietist faith
traditions and is one of the three Historic Peace Churches. It celebrates its  300th
anniversary in 2008. It counts about 130,000 members across the United
States and Puerto Rico, and has missions and sister churches in Brazil,
the 
Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Nigeria.

# # #

For more information contact:

Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford
Director of News Services
Church of the  Brethren General Board
1451 Dundee Ave.
Elgin, IL 60120
847-742-5100  ext. 260

*****************************************************************
The Church of the Brethren Newsline is produced by Cheryl  Brumbaugh-Cayford,
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