Because it's there

Posted by David Roberts at 1:09 PM on 24 Feb 2005

Read more about: politics | energy | oil | Arctic | Arctic Refuge

It's difficult to work up outrage these days, I know. But still.

Republicans have long had a hard on for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It's never made any sense -- the amount of oil we could get is a tiny fraction of what we need, and it's 10 years out in the future. It will do nothing to reduce energy prices or dependence on foreign oil. Now it turns out that even the oil companies themselves don't think it's worth it.

A Bush adviser says the major oil companies have a dimmer view of the refuge's prospects than the administration does. "If the government gave them the leases for free they wouldn't take them," said the adviser, who would speak only anonymously because of his position. "No oil company really cares about ANWR," the adviser said, using an acronym for the refuge, pronounced "an-war."

Wayne Kelley, who worked in Alaska as a petroleum engineer for Halliburton, the oil services corporation, and is now managing director of RSK, an oil consulting company, said the refuge's potential could "only be determined by drilling."

"The enthusiasm of government officials about ANWR exceeds that of industry because oil companies are driven by market forces, investing resources in direct proportion to the economic potential, and the evidence so far about ANWR is not promising," Mr. Kelley said.

Drilling in the refuge isn't about the oil under the ice. In part, supporters believe that weakening and eventually overcoming public resistance to drilling there will make it easier to start getting drills in more promising areas off the coasts of California and Florida. But even more, it's simply become a symbol.

... many Republicans hope to claim opening the refuge to exploration as a victory in the long-running conflict between development interests and environmentalists.

The refuge is a symbol of that larger debate, said Senator Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican who is a major supporter of drilling.

It's not about oil any more, it's about political power, and if they have to piss on one of the country's last untouched places to prove their wankers are bigger, they'll do it.

For story: Because it's there
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When Push Comes To Shove

When I worked with Earth First! in the mid 80's, I told everyone that even if we were successful in getting all unspoiled land protected as National Park Wilderness, if the exploiters ran out of resources or land, they would ignore the laws, or change them to their liking, and take what they want regardless of any legal protections. This is what's happening here and with the Endangered Species Act, the most important environmental law in the U.S.

The point is that without somehow getting people to feel deeply that the Earth (i.e., land, air, and water) is alive, and that all life is part of the same interconnected whole, we can never have meaningful protections against ecological or environmental degradation or destruction. I realize that Dave thinks I'm a hopeless idealist who doesn't recognize reality, but I instead recognize the reality that real change can only come with a significant change in people's attitudes toward life in our universe and on our planet.

Jeff Hoffman

by jdhlax at 1:47 PM on 24 Feb 2005

love your mother, damn-it!

It's human nature- a left-over from our animal beginnings. Ever watch young boys play? Do they build things, nurture nature, watch in awe as life unfolds? Not usually. They break off a big stick and beat something with it, until it's destroyed. And this is encouraged- 'boys will be boys', their mothers say, and fathers chuckle. "Hit it again, boy, it's not dead yet". This is the macho attitude, and the Republicans have adopted it as their motto- Democrats and Liberals are 'girlie men', remember? Enviro's and Progressives are 'commies', and most of my neighbors think we should be strung from the highest tree (before they hack it down and burn it on the spot).

I don't see the enlightenment of mankind coming any time soon to my neighborhood- most of them haven't given up that boyhood urge to destroy something, and many of them think that's what makes them the masters of the world- "it's my right to destroy it- why? Because I can- and you can't stop me."

But I must agree that the enlightenment is our only hope of saving our planet. I'm still working on just how to force love and respect of nature down their gaping consumer holes.

a liberal in redsville

by birdboy at 7:03 PM on 25 Feb 2005

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