Arctic Slope Regional Corp. filed a request to intervene in the polar bear lawsuit on behalf of its Iñupiat Alaska Native shareholders. The lawsuit, filed by the Center for Biological Diversity is currently pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. If the motion to intervene is allowed, ASRC will be heard on all procedural and substantive issues in the case, thus ensuring that concerns for the corporation and its shareholders will be addressed. The motion to intervene was filed on July 3, 2008. The corporation said the lawsuit could have a dire effect on every resource and economic development project on the North Slope of Alaska, and could impact the rest of the country in a variety of ways. They added that while the corporation is concerned about climate change, the action taken by the environmental industry could circumvent the legislative process and appears to be an effort to address the global issue of climate change through restrictions on arctic activities which have not caused climate change or had a measurable effect on polar bears. “ASRC shareholders are the indigenous people of Alaska’s North Slope and share the same environment with the polar bears,” said Tara Sweeney, ASRC Vice President of External Affairs. “Any decisions made in response to the polar bear suit will directly impact the communities of many ASRC shareholders” The decision by ASRC to intervene in this lawsuit was made by th ...
Anytime
