Interior Dept. to Open Alaska North Slope

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration intends to open 8.8 million acres of Alaska's North Slope to oil and gas development, including areas considered environmentally sensitive.

The Interior Department was to announce the oil and gas leasing plan Friday, the day the Senate was taking a critical vote on a massive energy bill endorsed by President Bush but denying him his top energy priority, opening an Alaskan wildlife refuge to drilling.

None of the 8.8 million acres are in the wildlife refuge, but they do include some sensitive areas in Alaska that are important for the protection of migratory birds, whales and wildlife.
snip>

"Instead of being a wilderness area," he said Thursday, "it will be an industrial zone subdivided by roads, pipelines, associated facilities, drill pads, maintenance facilities, etc., etc."

The Interior Department described its action as a compromise that will offer large areas for drilling, while cordoning off some sensitive lands because of environmental concerns.

http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-alaska-oil,0,1727260.story?coll=sns-ap-politics-headlines

If these people invested half as much time and money into finding alternate sources of power we'd all be a lot better off.

And they can't make the big bucks.

Will we be able to tell if they do it or not?

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

I'm also Jewish so please don't attack my beliefs. I weigh 145 lbs if that is what you are asking.

No I suppose it would never affect you. Most Americans tend to be backwater provincials who cannot imagine that destruction of an ecosystem that is a few thousand miles away has any importance to them. Some us however understand that this is simply raping the land and some of the last unspoiled wilderness in America to make a few people who are wealthy, that much wealthier.

What do you mean by "backwater provencials"? Are you an American and recon you opinion or facts to be above most Americans or are you from outside America ans feel you have a beter grasp on America's issues?

Please do tell...

That's right, in the overwhelming scheme of things, most Americans tend to be quite provincial. (meaning: a person of local or restricted interests or outlook)

It's that same limited outlook that keeps up polluting our enviroment, balking at treaties designed to conserve the environment (Kyoto), and give big corporations carte blanche to do as they will with little retribution (as in the current energy bill which protects nuclear power plants from liability and allows the continued use MBTE).

It's sorta like the so-called "Healthy Forests Initiative" which basically is a windfall for loggers when the real problem has generally been not so much overgrowth in old growth forests but new growth which provides ample fuel for fires due to thinning.

And meanwhile the majority of Americans go on blithely unaware of what the world is like more than a couple of hundred miles from them. And when only about 30 percent of the American people bother to even exercise their franchise by voting then it's a safe bet that they either don't know or just don't care about much more than what directly in front of them.

And yes, I am an American who believes in conserving our environment.

How will the average American respond to such a "threat"?

...and the other 70% will go on about their lives while we despoil a National Treasure.

But you may want to ask yourself this: Do you suppose there is any reason it is name Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge which is very nearby?

Someday the fossil fuels will run out and when they do, we will have to make the effort to invest in renewable resources. The question is do we do it now or do we wait until we have spoiled a national treasure and habitat?

It's the other 70% that needs addressed.

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

All this "You" in your missive. I only asked a question and you managed to attribute the completer and utter destruction to "You" (meaning me I assume).

Please remind me never to ask a question here again if "You" are the only answer.

The poster could have said "we" but the use of the word "you" was meant to drive home that this isn't the abstract concept you seem to be implying that our unspoiled areas of this nation are.

Please have them re-educated or spell checked.

Habit forming.

I was kidding. Just wanted to get one smile into a really depressing thread. ;-)

Slope would affect people in the Lower 48 states. It would probably have a negligible direct affect; you'd never be aware of it.

However, it would help despoil Alaska, our most pristine wilderness, which is already reeling under the impact of global warming. The tragedy is that there's no need to pump oil out of Alaska; the government has made virtually no effort to encourage energy conservation or develop alternate energy sources.

The North Slope also has enormous symbolic importance. Republicans have wanted to get their greedy hands on it for decades, and it has withstood them time and again. If the North Slope falls, the Republicans will probably overwhelm every other wilderness bastion they covet.

That's a hard concept for many Americans to grasp when needed.

Symbols are only important as their detractors.

It is obviously not Alaska, so what state do you live in? Perhaps we can come up with an example not so far removed from home that might illustrate the necessity to think beyond your own backyard. Because what is happening in your neighbor's backyard will affect you, evenutally, even if it as far away as Alaska, and even if it is only over some stupid "symbol". The "every man for himself" rule of law never made any country great. And with the possible exception of brother Jeb's Florida, Bush is screwing the environment in every single state in this union.

this is payback for not getting the Arctic Refuge. These people have admitted that besides some pork to their donors this is REALLY about breaking the back of the opposition and the environmental movement. It seems to be full speed ahead with the assistance of many Democrats. I just read about their help pushing chimp's "healthy forests" timber company wefare plan. I've about had it and about to change my registration from Indy to Green. If this is the best "opposition" we've got in this Country we are ALL screwed!

We have failed to bring our oil consumption under control. We have failed to rein in corporations, which do not care about the country, only profits. We have failed to protect some of our most beautiful wilderness for future generations. Unspoiled areas are RARE and should be protected. I would like for my grandchildren to be able to see current film of polar bears and grizzly in the wild. Only short-sighted people do not understand the damage we are doing to these extremely rare treasures.

We must then need an Ad campaign to identify the American that are short-sighted people that do not understand the damage we are doing.

I'm sure most people will understand the importance after they are told what is important to them.

of ANWAR is a problem? The environment isn't important to you, or are you not an air-breather?

What does ANWAR have to do with clean air and breathing?

Why the attack for asking what will eventually be asked by the enemy? Hello?

I wasn't attacking you, I was asking you a question. I think that the drilling in the ANWAR is all tied up with the Bushies environmental battle. Rolling back clean air standards, etc., you know? Hello, yourself.

The people of the United States own that land. Why don't we just develop it ourselves and use the money to help defray taxes instead of just letting Bush's friends run roughshod all over it?

I'll bet a Democratic administration would get a lot better deal for any efforts to exploit those resources than the Republicans will. Dems could probably do what is in the best interest of the people, maximize the value they get for their land and minimize the damage.

Republicans just turn over America's natural resources to their friends and then join their friends a few years later to enjoy the booty.

...to the Iraqi people, so how is it that our oil doesn't belong to us and is simply used to make a select few rich?

I wonder about that myself.

You can't leave decisions about America's oil resources in the hands of people who are in the hands of big oil. That's just nuts.

The decision about whether to exploit national resources (or preserve them), how much value to get from those resources, and how much damage is done in extracting them has to be left up to someone trustworthy. That's clearly not the Republicans in this case.

This is difficult to teach, as you demonstrate.

in case he doesn't get reselected. Whoever takes over after him will have one hell of a time.
What a jerk.

keep on fucking coming! I don't know if I can take this anymore! This administration is the most horrible ever. When will they stop?! The earth isn't theirs to despoil. Please God stop these people, amen.

There must not be much easy oil under these lands, otherwise we'd a been driiling them years ago.

Looks like the final frontier for American oil. I'll bet oil companies are going to have a real hard time making any bucks off this oil at today's $30 a barrel prices. But once oil goes to $50 or $60, then these hard to get at sources will begin to pay.

Just wait till the last American oil off Florida's coast has drilling platforms mounted over them. The value of oil will then, finaly, be well appreciatted.

*chimpy always has a backup plan to get what he wants. Maybe sen. TomTom
will wakeup now and see that he's been had.

The people up here are all for it!! Hey it's good for Alaska, and will create jobs in Alaska...Fucking idiots...

wouldn't be satisfied until every drop of oil is his for the taking.

Fuck you BULLshyt!