GOP AGAIN BIDS TO TAKE ANWR - By Jason Leopold

[kpete]

GOP Again Bids to Take ANWR
By Jason Leopold
t r u t h o u t | Report

Thursday 16 March 2006

The Senate is prepared to vote on a budget bill Thursday that includes a measure to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling - just as the region suffers through one of the worst oil spills in history.

The provision to permit drilling in ANWR was included in a resolution passed last week by the Senate Budget Committee. The full Senate is expected to vote on the issue as early as Thursday.

The measure was prepared by the Republican-controlled Senate in such a way that it would be protected from a filibuster by Senate Democrats opposed to the issue. Drilling in ANWR has been debated at least half a dozen times over the past five years.

The issue is one of the cornerstones of President Bush's National Energy Policy. Bush has said that drilling in ANWR is crucial in order for the United States to cut its dependence on foreign oil.

Environmentalists and numerous lawmakers have derided the plan, saying it would lead to the destruction of caribou and other wildlife that live in the refuge. Moreover, severe safety and technological issues have plagued the big oil companies that drill in nearby Prudhoe Bay and who would be responsible for breaking ground in ANWR should the Senate measure pass.

Because the companies have yet to take measures to address the safety issues at their Prudhoe Bay operations and make much-needed technological upgrades, there have been dozens of oil spills in the area. The situation would likely become even worse if ANWR were to be opened up to exploration, according to environmental officials and activist groups.

more at:
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/031606J.shtml

[blm]

1. Kerry and Cantwell are prepared with an amendment to strip this out of the

budget.

They were ready with it yesterday but it seems they caught GOP unprepared (hehe) so Repubs put it off to today.

[wisteria]

2. I am happy to see others reporting on this. This is so important

yet, here at DU at the moment, many don't seem to care.

[louis-t]

3. People still believe the lie that drilling there

will make us more energy independant. Dems need to keep hammering away at this myth/lie.

[KansDem]

4. I believe there are two reasons the GOP wants ANWR

We all know there isn't enough oil up there to make this all worthwhile. There there must be other reasons. Here are two that come to my mind:

1) Psychological victory over US environmental movement. Organizations like the Sierra Club have been a thorn in the side of Corporate America for decades.
2) Open up Alaska to mineral exploration. Oil drilling in ANWR is only a first step to mineral extraction. Once oil derricks appear, strip mining won't seem so bad.

Just my two cents...

[blm]

6. I think you're exactly right - I wish more DU Dems could get that there is

much more to this than the media will ever tell them.

[RaleighNCDUer]

5. And we will keep voting it down.

But they know that we have to win every time, while they only have to win once. So they will keep trying.

[blm]

7. That's why they pull moves like sneaking it in while base is distracted

by censure.