"Biological Annihilation": The Danger of Opening Alaska's ANWR to Oil & Gas Drilling

The Trump administration is finalizing plans to open one of the world's last pristine wilderness regions, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, to oil and fracked gas drilling. Trump is pushing the drilling at a time when climate change is permanently altering the Arctic and devastating local communities. The plan calls for the creation of landing strips, drill pads, pipeline supports, a seawater treatment plant, 175 miles of roads, and other infrastructure in Alaska's north coast. On Thursday, the House of Representatives voted to block the Trump administration from opening up Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; however, a companion bill is unlikely to pass the Republican-controlled Senate. From Charlotte, North Carolina, we speak with Subhankar Banerjee, a professor of art and ecology at the University of New Mexico and the author of "Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Seasons of Life and Land."