I understand that we could fill our oil needs forever if we would only put some oil wells in Alaska," said a woman when discussing the oil crisis caused by the war in the Middle East. The part of Alaska she was referring to is the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).¹ Last year, environmentalists thought they had saved this priceless wilderness from oil development, and the public seemed to have joined them in their battle to save it. With the horror of the environmental damage caused by the Exxon Valdez fresh in everyone's mind and the meager estimates about the amount of oil in the Refuge anyway, the preservation of the ANWR had then seemed assured.² But today, when hearing a remark like the one above, we must ask ourselves whether we have lost the battle to save not only the Refuge, but our worldwide environment as well.

As the country confronts both war and recession, the environmental community also faces two enormous challenges. The first is to hold on to the ground already won for environmental issues, such as the 10-year ban on drilling off the coasts of California and Florida.³ The second is to battle the problems threatening the planet, such as global warming, breathable air, and drinkable water. Today, despite the media hype surrounding "the environmental decade of the 1990s," the prognosis for saving the planet appears dim.