By a 56-44 vote, the U.S. Senate blocked legislation to allow drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The topic will most likely be revisited in Congress next year, but this was a significant victory for the refuge. Thanks to all of you who wrote letters or signed petitions - the Senate listened.

Three environmental groups are suing the US federal government to place the polar bear under the protection of the threatened species list, as their habitat melts from under them. As the Arctic ice thaws, polar bears are being forced into longer and longer swims to find food. While polar bears are capable of swimming distances of about 15 miles without difficulty, the increasing distance between ice floes has meant bears must swim up to 60 miles across the open sea to find seals living at the edges of the ice pack. Four bears were found drowned within a single month this past autumn, most likely having succumbed to exhaustion.

By listing the polar bear under the United States Endangered Species Act, the law requires that the United States government not take actions that “jeopardize the continued existence” of the species.

More information about the bears' plight and the lawsuit is available at the Environmental News Network. You can learn more about polar bears and their habitat at the World Wildlife Federation's Polar Bear Tracker.

The debate continues back and forth, and this week the United States moved a step closer to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge by passing a provision allowing drilling, attached to a military spending bill. The fight will now move to the Senate.

The evidence shows that the Arctic drilling yield will not be sufficient to sustain the United States' energy needs for a significant length of time, but may do irreparable damage to the already-fragile northern ecosystem.

Tell the Senate that there's more to this world than oil revenue. The WWF has a campaign for people in the US and another for those in Canada. There's still time to stop this disaster, if people take action now.

In early November the House dropped plans to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from the budget bill, out of concern that the bill would not have enough support to pass. There is still a possibility that the ANWR drilling measures could reappear in a final version of the bill, so the fight is not completely over, but this was the first big hurdle. Thanks to all of you who have helped to oppose the drilling - people are listening!