This past Sunday, President Obama proposed protecting 1.4 million acres of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from oil and gas drilling. This provoked cheers from environmentalists, but angered the Republican-controlled Congress as the plan would permanently bar drilling and other forms of development in the 19.8-million-acre refuge's coastal plain.

The area would receive the highest form of federal protection, and the Huffington Post reports that the Interior Department would also place part of the Arctic Ocean off limits to drilling and is considering additional limits on oil and gas production in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.

According to the LA Times, the coastal plain of the refuge is estimated to hold up to 10.3 billion barrels of oil. It is also home to more than 200 species, including musk oxen, polar bears, and thousands of migratory birds.

Many Alaska lawmakers and republicans are angry at the proposal, as they want the area to be opened up to oil drilling. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), chairwoman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said in a statement, "What's coming is a stunning attack on our sovereignty and our ability to develop a strong economy that allows us, our children and our grandchildren to thrive...

But we will not be run over like this. We will fight back with every resource at our disposal. These decisions simply cannot be allowed to stand."

However, the White House thinks otherwise. A recent statement reads, "For more than three decades, some voices have clamored to drill for oil in the coastal plain, a move that could irreparably damage this ecological treasure and harm the Alaska Native communities who still depend on the caribou for subsistence."

In reality, only Congress can designate the area as protected wilderness. However, even if they refuse to do so, the Interior Department has made it clear that it intends to continue to bar oil and gas development in the area.