Abraham: Alaska Drilling, Energy Policy to Clear Senate

[Rose Siding]

LONDON (Reuters) - A bigger Republican majority in the Senate is likely to pass a national energy plan and back drilling in an Alaskan wildlife refuge to open up energy sources at home, the outgoing U.S. Energy Secretary said Tuesday.
"With the new composition of the Senate I believe it is feasible and likely that both ANWR and an energy policy will be passed," Spencer Abraham told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting with Russia's top nuclear official.

Abraham is due to step down when his replacement, Deputy Treasury Secretary Sam Bodman, is confirmed by the Senate.

The small Republican Senate majority in the last Congress failed to overcome a filibuster and pass the country's first overhaul of energy policy in more than a decade.

Now, with the new U.S. Congress convening Tuesday with an expanded Senate majority of 55 in the 100-seat U.S. upper house, it should pass, he said.

Majority Leader Bill Frist Monday reiterated Republican resolve to get a new policy in place, saying that "developing an energy policy" for the United States is one of the top three issues he will tackle.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=7234148&src=rss/ElectionCoverage

[oneighty]

1. That will be great

for the Alaska Permanent Fund. Too bad the rest of us citizens of the USA cannot also share in the sale of our natural resources. Trees, coal, water, natural gas, oil, and so forth.

Why is Alaska special?

180

[Ezlivin]

2. Wow! We'll finally be energy independent!

They should remove all life forms (animal and vegetable) and drill until we have enough oil to last us forever.

It's all there, isn't it?

[Minstrel Boy]

3. Yup. For about eight months.

ANWR is estimated to hold about 5.2 billion barrels of recoverable oil. The US is consuming nearly 20 million barrels a day. ANWR could meet that need for 260 days.

[Ezlivin]

5. Eight months! But drilling is hard work!

Yeah, I know about the ANWR and its true capacity.

Isn't it a pity that no one (save for you and others that are as well-informed) does the math and sees what drilling will truly accomplish?

This drilling in the ANWR is just more faith-based claptrap, in my estimation.

[TahitiNut]

7. The US has a 100 µsec/gal oil addiction.

Like any addict, it's willing to rape and plunder to feed the addiction.

[jdj]

15. that's generous. I've heard estimates of less than that.

[candice]

24. that's why the 25,000 $ tax deduction for buying a behemoth

for buying an over 6 ton SUV has ended! Thank god for Japanese technology. I'm waiting to get a good hybrid for my next car.

[skippythwndrdog]

4. What are the PROs and CONs to drilling in ANWR?

Obviously, reducing dependence upon foreign oil is good. Also, it is obvious that the disruption to the environment up there would be bad. What are some of the other PROs and CONs?

[TahitiNut]

8. What're the 'PROs and CONs' to getting another fix for an addicton?

Obviously, getting the 'fix' from a relative is better than getting it from a stranger. Too bad we haven't invented methodoil yet. :shrug:

[Cocoa]

12. your pro is a no-go

drilling in Alaska will have no effect on our dependence on ME oil.

[Canuckistanian]

14. 12 reasons to protect ANWR

From:

http://www.wcr.org

1. The size of the oil deposit is unknown. Most estimates place the amount equivalent to a 200-day supply of U.S. consumption.

2. A reduction in fuel consumption and greater gas mileage in cars would easily compensate for any oil drilled.

3. Any oil in ANWR would do little to reduce the need for U.S. oil imports.

4. There is a world-wide oil glut which will continue for years as new large fields are being discovered.

5. Any oil production in ANWR is at least a decade away, even if drilling were to start now.

6. Texas oil production is far down because of a lack of workers. So why start a large new project?

7. In 1980, the Commerce Department allowed Kenai oil to be exported. The same may happen to ANWR oil, so drilling for "national security" reasons is a poor argument.

8. Given the thousands of oil spills, roads, drilling platforms and other development at Prudhoe Bay, the environment of coastal ANWR will completely lose its wilderness character and damage to the ecology will be essentially permanent.

9. Oil companies have rights to 96.5 percent of the coastal plain. The 3.5 percent in ANWR is not needed by them.

10. Research has shown that female caribou with calves avoid areas with oil development. The ANWR coastal zone is the major calving ground of the Porcupine Herd.

11. Wilderness has given Americans its vision and identity. What will future generations have if we destroy our last wilderness areas for short-term profit, sacrificing the eternal for the expedient?

12. There are a number of places on earth that should be preserved solely for their own sake, unaffected by greed, where people can seek spiritual values and enjoy a world unaffected by humankind. ANWR is such a place. For more info, go to www.wcs.org

[davidinalameda]

6. it still won't pass

I'm sure we can peel a few Repukes off--like those northeastern ones who claim to be moderates

[bunkerbuster1]

9. And drilling in ANWR wouldn't be so disgusting to me

if it were paired with a serious conservation effort. You'd think the reThugs would at least throw us a bone, but they won't.

At the risk of alienating some here, I would be willing to permit ANWR drilling if, oh, the reThugs:

1) elimated the 6000+ pound vehicle depreciation tax advantage (aka the "Hummer deduction")

2) eliminated the "light truck" CAFE standard and lumped all on-road four wheel vehicles into the fleet.

3) increased the gasoline tax by at least 20 cents per gallon.

Something like that. None of this pie-in-the-sky shit about H2 powered cars and fuel cell research.

[Liberty Belle]

11. Alaska's environment is already in peril.

Global warming triggered melting of the glaciers at the fastest rate in recorded history this summer, causing massive flooding of coastal communities. Whole villages had to be moved inland in some cases. Also Alaska for the first time ever recorded temperatures over 100 degrees at Fairbanks and had devastating wildfires.

Melting of permafrost imperils the taiga forests and tundra, threatening food supplies of wildlife. Changes in the ice floes also endanger polar bears, which are now threatened with extinction. The proposed oil drilling would exacerbate already escalating threats to Alaska's wildlife, interrupting caribou migration and disrupting this most fragile environment.

We visited Alaska this summer. It is truly our last frontier and should be kept in a pristine state. I oppose the proposed drilling, which is at best only a short-term stopgap for producing oil supplies.

[bunkerbuster1]

13. I'm not thrilled with the prospect, but

linking global warming to what's being proposed for ANWR is a stretch.

I don't think of ANWR as a "frozen wasteland" that we might as well exploit. I'm well aware that it's teeming with life. I saw the photos in Outside magazine--it's beautiful. I'd rather we not drill there.

But if we're going to lose on this one, we should at least make sure that our concession is not in vain--we should negotiate a hardnosed deal and make the reThugs out to be the bad guys if they won't deal with us.

[flaminbats]

16. there will be no serious negotiations until Republicans are forced..

Democrats have only one means of being a political factor at the table, give Repukes a choice..negotiate or face a filibuster. Either way Democrats and the public win.

If Democrats ignore this issue, be prepared for a new cycle of destructive oil spills on beautifully preserved public land.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3333369.stm

[bunkerbuster1]

17. Ohyeah. gotta play hardball on this one.

I hope my willingness to negotiate some serious conservation measures--the sort that the Right has villified in the past--doesn't mean I want ANWR drilled. But if you have to give and take (and I suspect it's one of those things we'll get clobbered on if we don't have some give on this one), then negotiate the toughest deal you can.

If we have to sacrifice a relatively small portion of ANWR in exchange for systematic reforms to CAFE and changes to our tax code to stop subsidizing these fucking land barges that blight our nation, and a very healthy dollop of mass transit and bike/sidewalk lanes, then I could live with it.

[flaminbats]

25. certainly..give or take is for Repukes, which can afford to play softball

take what you can should be the objective of the minority party. Giving ground to the majority party on any issue reduces Democrats to nothing more than a party of political kiss ups! Why should taxpayers ever be forced to pay for oil which was drilled on our land?

[Liberty Belle]

21. I didn't link drilling to global warming.

Global warming is threatening the wildlife, however. The critters don't need any additional threats of habitat disruption posed by drilling.

[bunkerbuster1]

27. Fair enough n/m

[Baclava]

20. Polar bear extinction?

Polar Bears are not an Endangered Species. Neither the Canadian Wildlife Service nor the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service consider polar bears to be endangered. They are usually considered a "species of special concern" or a "Threatened Species", which means they could become an Endangered Species.

Where are you getting your information?

[Liberty Belle]

22. There was an article in the mainstream media (AP, I think)

a week or two ago. It quoted an expert who said polar bears could face extinction. I'll see if I can find a link.

[Liberty Belle]

23. WP: Study Says Polar Bears Could Face Extinction

Here's the lead, with a link to the full story. Are the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment and the Washington Post official enough sources for the skeptics here?

washingtonpost.com
Study Says Polar Bears Could Face Extinction
Warming Shrinks Sea Ice Mammals Depend On
By Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 9, 2004; Page A13


Global warming could cause polar bears to go extinct by the end of the century by eroding the sea ice that sustains them, according to the most comprehensive international assessment ever done of Arctic climate change.

The thinning of sea ice -- which is projected to shrink by at least half by the end of the century and could disappear altogether, according to some computer models -- could determine the fate of many other key Arctic species, said the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, the product of four years of work by more than 300 scientists.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A35233-2004Nov8?language=printer

[Baclava]

28. "Polar bears to go extinct by the end of the century?"

I guess anything could happen in a hundred years.
Even that damn asteroid could crash and kill everything.
In which case, no one would be around to claim they were wrong.

[flaminbats]

29. precisely..

too many people simply don't care, only those whom ultimately suffer the consequences of their immoral forerunners.

[WMliberal]

10. at least enough to counteract Lieberman and a couple of spineless

others. I still think we have enough to keep the filibuster.

If I felt like doing my homework, some of the Dem seats we lost weren't exactly environmentalists to begin with.

Alls I know is that I'm going to have to donate more to Sierra this spring, once the bill is submitted.

[bunkerbuster1]

18. erm--Lieberman favors ANWR drilling?

News to me. whatever you think of his foreign policy, my understanding is that Joe's been a pretty reliable guy on the environment--I can't imagine CT voters tolerating anything else.

[0rganism]

33. It will pass, maybe by a narrower margin than 55-45

Hell, even my GOP senator (Smith, OR) says he's voting against it. But that doesn't mean he'll support a Democratic filibuster.

OTOH, for every Chafee and Snowe tempted to put on the "moderate mask", there will be at least one endangered Dem senator who will consider voting for the bill as an appeal to resource extraction lobbyists and some local extractionists. This is why we lose, over and over and over again: our elected reps expect support from lobbyists based on voting record, but when it comes down to it, industry lobbyists know they can get more pork from the GOP.

[hellbound-liberal]

19. Kerry said he would filibuster this last time. How about now?

Has anyone heard his position?

[kwolf68]

26. We still have a chance

The Dems who always bailed on us were Breaux and Miller types. Southern Democrats are all gone now.

We have 45 votes...+ Collins, Snowe, and Chafee gives us 48 and John McCain could be a wildcard on this one as well. Don't think we will get any others. Of course, Jeffords will side with the Arctic with us as well. That gets us to 49 votes.

We know Mary Landreau will go with the Repukes...and we may lose both Hawaii Senators which brings us back down to 46....

I don't see anywhere near 6 other Democrats who will bolt. Who are they? Nelson of Florida? DOUBTFUL considering he is fighting to keep drilling out of Florida.

The Dems we do have (though few remain) are people like Feingold, Durbin, Corzine...ass kickers who should fight.

The energy bill is the most corrupt piece of legislation ever created. If the goddamn media would do their part to educate the american people on it, we'd be appalled. It goes way past ANWR. In fact, I believe the Repukes are willing to use ANWR as a wildcard to get all their other bullshit passed.

If the Democrats have any shred of worth in this nation anymore, they should expose this sham bill and collar the right-wing oligarchs with it and set the stage for the 06 elections.

If the energy bill passes in its present state, I will immediately join the Green Party and never vote Democratic again. This is a dirty bill and if the Dems can't stop it, then our country is fucking hopeless.

[bling bling]

30. "If the Dems can't stop it, then our country is fucking hopeless"

I agree with you 100%. If the Dem leaders can't/don't stop THIS, then the Democratic Party is dead.

[aikido15]

31. The Dems are dead anyway....

they are acting like a bunch of wimps. If they let this happen they should all be horse whipped, in public!

[flaminbats]

32. other Democrats to watch...

Max Baucas, Mary Lincoln, Tim Johnson, and Ben Nelson. These are the ones who must be held accountable..supporting the filibuster helps them get reelected. Opposing it means ripping off taxpayers and ruining a public treasure.