|
Polar Bears Win Round One In Alaska Oil-Drilling Battle |
|
|
|
Written by D.L. McCracken
|
|
Thursday, 10 November 2005 |
 In a move that was based on politics rather than environmental concerns, Washington House Leaders on Wednesday set aside an attempt to open a huge section of the Alaskan Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) for oil exploration and drilling purposes. Environmental lobbyists who have been actively fighting the proposed legislation are celebrating the victory but although the battle may have been won, the war is far from being over.
The controversial plan to open 2,000 acres of ANMR to oil drilling was included in a larger $54 billion budget cut bill. According to a report by the Associated Press, twenty-five Republicans signed a letter asking GOP leaders to strike the Alaskan drilling provision saying, “Rather then reversing decades of protection for this publicly held land, focusing greater attention on renewable energy sources, alternate fuels, and more efficient systems and appliances would yield more net energy savings than could come from ANWR and would have a higher benefit on the nation’s long-term economic leadership and security.”
The larger budget bill is to be voted on today (Thursday) and if passed, Senate Republicans could insist upon having the ANWR drilling proposal reinserted into the bill thus forcing a new vote.
Oil exploration and drilling in the pristine Alaskan Wildlife Refuge has been a priority for certain government factions for decades and current President George Bush considers drilling in the Refuge one of his top energy priorities.
The decision to abandon the ANWR proposal is yet another setback for the President as his popularity continues to decline in light of the increasing resistance to the war in Iraq. The Bush administration's reputation has also suffered because of the Valerie Plane leak as well as Bush's failure to appoint his personal lawyer, Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile 'Defenders of Wildlife'president Rodger Schlickeisen welcomed the news but in a press release issued yesterday warned that the Refuge remains in jeopardy because members "must now gather to reconcile the House version of the bill with the Senate version, which does contain drilling language".
Schlickeisen added, “In the end, even hiding drilling language deep in the budget bill wasn’t enough to win support for this ill-advised and short-sighted policy. While we’re not out of the woods yet, we have every reason to believe that these pragmatic Members of Congress will continue to demonstrate strong leadership on this issue and, if necessary, vote against any final House-Senate Reconciliation Bill agreement that includes the Arctic Refuge.”
|
