The Senate has voted against opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling by a 52-48 vote, largely along party lines. California Democrat Barbara Boxer celebrated the vote, calling it a “a huge setback” for the Republicans’ agenda. Just before the vote began, Alaska senator Ted Stevens bluntly warned the Senate: “People who vote against this today are voting against me and I will not forget it.” As chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Stevens holds significant power, yet senators were apparently not swayed by this threat. (To read a March 18 resolution by the Amnesty International Youth Summit on Indigenous Peoples in support of the Gwi’chin people of Alaska in their fight to prevent drilling in the Refuge, go to http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/106/972/915/ )
