alternative hippopotamus

3/6/2005

ANWR Roundup

There's a lot of interesting, well-written commentary that I've seen in the last few days on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (or as what Gale Norton and other Bush sycophants like to call it: the 1002 Area). There's also some nutty stuff I've seen from the right. This is a small sampling, but I believe representative. It's important to invest some time on this right now, because as one of the holy grails of the right-wing, opening up ANWR is only second to ending Social Security as a right-wing priority.

Who Hijacked Our Country makes the essential point, that there are alternatives to making Alaska look like Elizabeth, NJ:

It’s been shown that improvements in gas mileage, and increased use of mass transit, would save more oil than the amount estimated to be in ANWR. But somehow this same national security paranoia never comes up when legislators are trying to pass energy conservation measures.

I saw fate whiz back by me negates one of the saws that I've seen trotted out, that the 1002 Area is just some hayseed tanglebrush:

Congressmen who have been flown over ANWR in oil-company jets have stood before cameras owned by media conglomerates and told us that the North Slope is a wasteland atop an endless supply of oil. In fact, quite the opposite is true. The North Slope is home to polar and grizzly bears, wolverines, musk oxen, wolves, and the Porcupine caribou herd. The Gwich'in people have lived in symbiosis with this herd for at least 10,000 years. All the beauty and magnificence we associate with the Arctic is there, intact and in abundance.

Environment II points us to a letter to Bush signed by environmental scientists across the US. Here's from that letter:

Sacrificing this ecosystem for an insignificant supply of our nation’s energy that will not reach the market for a decade does not represent balanced resource management. Instead, we urge you to support permanent protection of the Arctic Refuge’s coastal plain.

At The American Street, eRobin points out that while we're focusing on Social Security, this one is slipping under the radar:

Destroying the coast of the ANWR is one of the things BushCo wants to sneak in while we’re distracted by the proposed destruction of Social Security. When you call your senators to insist that they vote against the Barriers to Bankruptcy Bill, you can also mention your opposition to the destruction of our Arctic Wildlife Refuge.

History and Perceptions has an alternative viewpoint concerning drilling on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge:

Next, it's time to start building refineries. Lots of 'em. Big, huge, smelly gasoline refineries, where enough capacity exists to offset the summer driving season squeeze.