Editor’s Note: All opinion section content reflects the views of the individual author only and does not represent a stance taken by The Collegian or its editorial board. Letters to the Editor reflect the view of a member of the campus community and are submitted to the publication for approval.

To the Editor, 

As an American citizen, a woman and a student at Colorado State University, I feel fired up about the current state of the natural world because I understand that my well-being is mandated by its flourishing. I am tired of waiting and demand action now. Today, I will not sit back and observe with fear, but I will stand up for the Earth that I care for. 

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska is at risk.

In 2017, Donald Trump’s tax bill opened the land to oil and gas drilling. Now, the administration is itching to sign the land off to corporations. This exploitation is directly related to plants, people and animals.

The refuge is one of the most biodiverse lands north of the Arctic Circle. It’s home to caribou, bears, wolverines, migratory birds and, the poster child for climate change, polar bears. If we aren’t even willing to save the polar bears, I fear for Earth’s smaller and less furry inhabitants — the ones most of us haven’t even heard of.

A sustainable future that benefits all people, animals and plants alike is possible, and it is in everyone’s best interest to stand for it.

The refuge is also sacred to the Gwich’in people, and the desire to exploit their land plucks at the heartstrings of America’s violent history of exploiting Native people’s land, traditions and livelihoods. We must move forward and not slither back into the wrongdoings of the past.

The time to fight for human rights is now. The time to implement green energy is now. The time to stand with, on and as part of wild land is now.

A sustainable future that benefits all people, animals and plants alike is possible, and it is in everyone’s best interest to stand for it. I ask senators Michael Bennet and Cory Gardner to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and not corporate greed. There are other ways to create energy, but there are no more polar bears once we destroy all of their homes.

There is no planet B.

Lauren Roux

CSU wildlife biology student

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