Here are some other options for contacting President Clinton. Forwarded by Jane Clark Contact Clinton and encourage his use of executive order to proclaim the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge a National Monument, -- simply phone the President's Opinion Line (toll-free) at 1-866-366-3655, and express the above idea. OR call toll-free at 1-800/663-9566 (press zero to bypass the long recording) from 9 am - 5 pm Eastern time. OR CALL THE WHITE HOUSE, TOLL FREE: (888) 750-4897 (business hours only) If you cannot call today, be sure to call the White House before January 20th and make sure your voice is heard! Or, as a last resort, Call the White House hotline at (202) 456-1111 (press "0" when prompted) from 8:30-5:00 EST and tell the comments-line operator that you want President Clinton to declare the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to be a National Monument as the last great environmental act of his presidency. This one action may result in the protection of more animals than almost anything else you can do. You may also send the president an email at: [log in to unmask] Your message or phone call can simply say: Mr. President, As the last environmental act of your presidency, I am asking you to designate the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to be a National Monument. Please culminate your presidency with this great environmental legacy. Thank you, - Protect the Arctic Refuge from oil drilling, by designating the Refuge's coastal plain as a National Monument. - Thank him for his defense of the Arctic Refuge five years ago (he vetoed legislation that would have allowed oil drilling there), when he called this spectacular wilderness, "one of America's great national treasures." - Drilling in the Arctic would do nothing to bring down today's high oil prices or solve our long-term energy needs. - Most important, no amount of oil is worth destroying the beauty and wonder of this amazing place, or the traditional lives of the Native American people who rely on it. From The Wilderness Society in November. A solid majority of Americans support designation of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as a National Monument by Pres. Clinton, in order to protect it from oil drilling, according to a new poll released by The Wilderness Society and the Alaska Wilderness League. Your calls and emails to the President are still needed -- please take action today at http://www.wilderness.org/arctic/index.htm?wa BACKGROUND By a margin of 56 to 29 percent, Americans say drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is not worth the environmental risk. Further, 55 percent say they support President Clinton declaring the coastal portion of the Arctic Refuge a national monument, which would prevent oil exploration and drilling there. "This poll demonstrates that the more people learn about the Arctic Refuge, the stronger their support is for protecting the Arctic Refuge from oil drilling and for designating it as a national monument," said Mark Mellman, president of the Mellman Group which conducted the survey. "Despite the alarm being sounded about energy prices, Americans do not want to risk oil drilling in the fragile Arctic Refuge." Over 95% of Alaska's north slope is already available for oil exploration, but the oil industry and its political allies have stepped up efforts to open up the remaining 5% -- the Arctic Refuge coastal plain -- to oil drilling. Yet government studies indicate that the amount of oil that is most likely to be economically recoverable would only be enough to provide the country with a 180-day supply at current consumption rates. "Even if we tear up every wilderness in America, we cannot change the reality that we have only three percent of the world's oil reserves and use 25 percent of the world's produced oil," said Allen E. Smith, Alaska Regional Director of The Wilderness Society. "Some places are simply too special, and we need to pass them along to future generations just like they are." Numerous energy analysts agree that the U.S. simply can't drill its way to energy independence. Still, oil companies and their supporters are trying to mislead the American public into thinking that Arctic Refuge oil will magically have an effect of TODAY'S high oil prices, even though that oil, if it even can be recovered, would not come to market for 7-10 YEARS, and would never amount to more than 2% of U.S. demand at any one time. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - For SC email list T-and-C, send: GET TERMS-AND-CONDITIONS.CURRENT to [log in to unmask]