Our view on energy policy: Alaska drilling is no quick fix, but it needs to happen "It wouldn't bring relief from today's high prices, as President Bush implied Monday. And it wouldn't make the United States energy independent.
"So does that mean, as critics suggest, that it's not worth doing? Not at all. Drilling in ANWR and offshore is an important piece of any long-term strategy to make the nation less vulnerable to oil-producing nations and supply disruptions. It is one of many imperfect steps needed to both increase the supply of oil and curb the demand for it, while seeking energy alternatives.
"It's true that any serious oil production from ANWR would take about 10 years. But dealing with the energy situation requires an ability to look beyond quick fixes. The fact is, ANWR oil would be flowing now if President Clinton hadn't vetoed a drilling bill in 1995.
"Environmentalists charge that drilling would despoil a pristine area in northern Alaska that is about the size of South Carolina and is a critical habitat for caribou, musk oxen, bears and birds. In fact, exploration in the 19 million-acre refuge would be confined to 1.5 million acres, and drilling to just 2,000 acres, an area less than half that of Atlanta's airport.
"Oil production would inevitably affect the refuge. But studies at Prudhoe Bay to the west, where oil has been produced since 1977 in an area more than twice the size of the one planned for ANWR, show that the effects can be minimized and wildlife protected, particularly with today's newer exploration technology."
6/3/08 The Happiest Man in America
"Guess who’s the happiest man in America today? No, it isn’t Barack Hussein Obama. It’s John McCain.
"While
it is
unquestionably
historic
and even
redeeming
that a
major
political
party
would be
poised
to
nominate
a black
man as
their
candidate
for
President,
that
does not
change
the
dynamics
or
demographics
of the
voters
who will
go to
the
polls in
November.
. . .
"Obama may be all about “change”, but when the voters discover the
specifics
of
change
he has
in mind,
they are
going to
fall out
of love
with
him.
"Do
voters
want
change
that
involves
insane
proposals
like the
'Climate
Security
Act'
being
debated
in
the
Senate,
a piece
of
legislation
that
will
destroy
what’s
left of
our
battered
economy?
Change
that
will end
the tax
cuts?
Change
that
will
grasp
defeat
from the
jaws of
victory
in Iraq?
"There is something symbolic in the announcement by the worst President
in the
modern
era,
Jimmy
Carter,
that he
is
endorsing
Barack
Obama.
There is
something
predictive
in it,
too"