Comments on: Doesn’t Arctic Drilling Belong in the Energy Bill?

By: Tommy

Tommy — Sat, 20 Aug 2005 04:47:41 +0000

To Laura:
I’m sorry you cannot justify
limited drilling in ANWR. The precedent set with Prudhoe Bay was created by technology that is more than 20 years old. New technology allows for 80% less footprint on the land. ANWR is 19.8 million acres and the proposed drilling area is approx. 2,000 acres, or .01%. That’s like one sixth of Dulles Airport. And it’s not just about the oil or the nature. It’s about the people, the American citizens, who will experience economic benefit, to the tune of between 200,000 and 700,000 new jobs.
Pristine wilderness and wildlife are supreme to me, and there is plenty of it here in this beautiful country. But guess what? People are here too and so are their needs. Like I said before, you can’t escape the fact that until we can ween off the oil, there are going to be struggles over it. Please tell China that they really shouldn’t encourage their millions of wannabe car drivers to buy Toyotas. If you buy food,clothing,shelter
or anything else, let alone drive a gas powered car, you depend on oil burning machines. Drilling oil out of our own land seems a small compromise is the big picture. Why not try to see it?

By: Tommy

Tommy — Sat, 20 Aug 2005 04:47:00 +0000

By: Laura

Laura — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 20:45:08 +0000

To Tommy:
The precedent set by Prudhoe Bay has shown that we cannot “harvest a natural resource that is available to us in an area where extreme consideration for the natural wonder that exists there would be taken.” Currently, there are a reported 400 spills a year in Prudhoe Bay, and one should not forget the infamous Exxon-Valdez spill of ’89, that killed nearly 260,000 animals and wrecked a whole fishing community. This community has still not seen the entire proceeds due to them from their lawsuits against Exxon. When an oil spill occurs in the Arctic, it is impossible to completely reverse the damage. The toxins will freeze and thaw and re-freeze overtime, causing damage to generations of wildlife. Should we endure another spill reminiscent of the ’89 disaster, the coastline of ANWR (which hosts more polar bear dens than any other place, and which is the calving grounds of the Porcupine Caribou) will have suffered from a loss or depletion of species –we cannot compensate for this. Even Sen. Murkowski, the most ardent supporter of Arctic drilling estimated only a 9% offset in domestic oil demand for a brief amount of time (a far more generouse estimate than more credible sources dictate-somewhere in the realm of .07%). Is it worth it to risk this landscape? DO you dare to look at a present picture of Prudhoe BAy or read its figures and claim that the Refuge, this natural wonder, will still stand mostly intact [if oil drilling were to occur]? Or will it look like another science fiction oddity as does the Bay?

By: Laura

Laura — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 20:45:00 +0000

By: Joan Elliott

Joan Elliott — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 20:12:09 +0000

It seems to me that with all the time and energy already spent on this issue, we could have made quite a lot of progress toward energy efficiency,had it been directed in that endeavor.

By: Joan Elliott

Joan Elliott — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 20:12:00 +0000

It seems to me that with all the time and energy already spent on this issue, we could have made quite a lot of progress toward energy efficiency,had it been directed in that endeavor.

By: gretchen van der slem

gretchen van der slem — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 05:52:26 +0000

excuse ME, but I happen to LIVE IN TEXAS and I’m glad u think getting oil from here is good…but how would u like it ruining YOUR backyard????
Y all this dependence on oil when diesel engine cars can run on a vegetable oil amalgamation and POW!!! We no longer need to use fossil fuels!!! Gee…what an idea. Why is the obvious so hard for them to see? Greed. It’s what’s turning this earth on its axis right now. It’s the most powerful entity on earth and it’s run rampant everywhere. Please write to your Congressmen/women and tell them to listen to you & do the RIGHT thing.

By: gretchen van der slem

gretchen van der slem — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 05:52:00 +0000

By: Joe Quinn

Joe Quinn — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 04:50:27 +0000

The present Pipe-Line sure isn’t helping the present effect on the gas I buy. This is just another pipe dream that will make a few rich and hurt us and all following generations in the future of seeing and visiting an area untouched by civilization

By: Joe Quinn

Joe Quinn — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 04:50:00 +0000