POLITICS: Senate backs Alaska Oil Drilling

The United States Senate has taken a major step towards allowing drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Senate voted 51-49 on Wednesday to stop opponents from removing a provision from next year's budget allowing drilling in the refuge. That means opponents cannot use a filibuster to block attempts to open ANWR to oil exploration and drilling.



I see this as a step in the right direction, why send our American dollars overseas to get the oil we need? This will create more jobs for Americans which is also another plus for Americans.

I have been to Alaskan and have seen first hand the Alaskan Pipeline and contrary to what the green fanatics are telling you will happen has not happened. The wild life has not been harmed; in fact Moose and Caribou are doing better then ever.


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[edit on 3/16/2005 by shots]

we oughta switch to biodiesel for fuel and heating needs, which also increases revenue for all the farmers that are losing everything. Puts them to work producing a valuable, non-hoarded resource, and tells the Middle East to stick it where the sun *does* shine.

If it's done right (and the technology and processes exist), the biggest effect on the environemtn is just the physical drilling rig and pipeline, not spillage and contamination.

As a resident of Alaska I am so glad- we are getting close now. Like you shots, we are not misled by the enviromentalists. Wildlife populations have increased since the pipeline construction. Caribou use the shade from the pipeline to take a break from the intense artic sun. Bears even take an easy stroll by waliking on the pipeline.
The economy is hot here, money is flowing. Drilling in ANWR will create a major boom. If you seek adventure and monetary rewards, head North!

Originally posted by Journey
As a resident of Alaska I am so glad- we are getting close now. Like you shots, we are not misled by the enviromentalists. Wildlife populations have increased since the pipeline construction. Caribou use the shade from the pipeline to take a break from the intense artic sun. Bears even take an easy stroll by waliking on the pipeline.
The economy is hot here, money is flowing. Drilling in ANWR will create a major boom. If you seek adventure and monetary rewards, head North!

All I can say it is about time. The Greenie wienies cry no matter what.

In fact they are now fighting Wind Power. Hello what is wrong with this picture?

Greens Out to Kill All Energy Production

Hell if they could get their way we would all be living in cities in high rise buildings.

Phugedaboudet, I agree with you on BioDiesel it is making progress, but there again some Greenies are even fighting them as I understand it.

I had a link or I thought I did and will post it when I can find it again regarding them fighting Biodisel that is. As I recall then objected because it envolved genetics.

This will only perpetuate the use and reliance of fossil fuels. The capitalists have won in turning the environmentalist movement into nothing but lies in the US it seems, but we must be very careful in what fossil fuels we use coz we should only be using it for plastics and petrochemical production.

thanks,
drfunk

Originally posted by drfunk
This will only perpetuate the use and reliance of fossil fuels. The capitalists have won in turning the environmentalist movement into nothing but lies in the US it seems, but we must be very careful in what fossil fuels we use coz we should only be using it for plastics and petrochemical production.

thanks,
drfunk

Not really. What is does is extend the use of fossil fuel, which in effect; gives them a longer period of time to come up with alternate fuel sources. No matter how you look at, we are bound to run out and we need time to develop new alternates. Kind of hard to do when the greenie wiennies seem to fight any alternatives if you ask me.

haha, they'll always ask for more and more time before it's too late. The quicker we change the cheaper.

tthanks,
drfunk

Originally posted by drfunk
haha, they'll always ask for more and more time before it's too late. The quicker we change the cheaper.

tthanks,
drfunk

I agree it will be cheaper if they can come up with a solution faster, however; how can they come up with a solution when the Greenie wienies fight over the proposed alternatives?

The real shame here is this debate raged for days with little to no coverage. Last minute rally attempts to get people to notice did yield the close vote seen here with those "GOP moderates" but only because the slightest sliver of light hit the issue despite being played out blow by blow on CSPAN2. Nobody noticed. Senator after senator appealed to previous public sentiment from polls against this. But the public was silent. The media was silent. We were silent until after the fact.

Just another point of order in Senate minutia. The drilling component was a small "budgetary measure" slipped in to make opponents seem like obstructionists to fiscal responsibility. I'm not arguing up or down on ANWAR one way or the other, but were these issues forced to be Ala Carte (not packages) and the will of people actually represented (not told to them after the fact), there'd be none of these hidden shenanigans.

If it's such a good thing to drill in the wildlife refuge, seems like somebody could have gotten that passed without this deception and media blackout. But I suppose our "representatives" know best.

hmmmm...I'm not sure.

I mean, nearly all the oil that will come out off Alaska were planning on Exporting to Japan, while we continue to import Mid-east and Mexico oil. It just seems that some congressmen have their head up their asses.

Originally posted by Murcielago
I mean, nearly all the oil that will come out off Alaska were planning on Exporting to Japan, while we continue to import Mid-east and Mexico oil. It just seems that some congressmen have their head up their asses.

Rather then mislead as you just did, why not give out the honest facts?

Yes the oil is exported, however; Japan in turn delivers Eastern oil to our ports gallon for gallon to save shipping around the horn of Africa.

In addition what may have been true in the past may not be true now. As I understand it they have newer refining methods that will allow the US to use the oil from Alaska.

The media was silent.

www.sfgate.com.../n/a/2005/03/10/national/w142045S46.DTL

From the 10th of March almost one week before they voted.

www.sfgate.com.../c/a/2005/03/11/MNGG4BNVOD1.DTL

March 11th almost one week before the vote again.


www.theday.com...

March 9th one week before the vote.

There are hundreds more if you look for them. As you can see the media was not silent as you claim.

Originally posted by shots

Originally posted by drfunk
haha, they'll always ask for more and more time before it's too late. The quicker we change the cheaper.

tthanks,
drfunk

I agree it will be cheaper if they can come up with a solution faster, however; how can they come up with a solution when the Greenie wienies fight over the proposed alternatives?

Furthermore, current alternatives are not always cheaper or easier to produce. Maybe biodiesel is, but the alternate fuels are not. We need time to continue developing these technologies to bring their cost down or people will not embrace them. Case in point, this January I got a new Silverado. I wanted to get the alternate fuel engine but in central NY there are only three filling stations within a 100 mile radius (last I looked). Everyone needs to be on board with this from the manufacturers to the fuel suppliers to the consumers. High costs will prevent this from happening.

I think by silent he was talking about the TV not the Internet When will you Capitolist Pigs(only said that because of the Greenie Weenie remark, fyi I am a green) learn As Murc said, the oil isn't even going to enter the US, it's getting sent to japan.

More drilling isn't the answer and we are not running out of Oil! We are just running out of the cheap stuff and the longer we wait as someone above said the more pricey it will be to switch over.

A higher Pump price means more incentive for Americans to buy fuel efficient vehicles(and it also makes alternative fuels more competitive). Hybrids are the future, wether they be Gas hybrid or H2 bybrid they are a partial solution NOW!

[edit on 17-3-2005 by sardion2000]

[edit on 17-3-2005 by sardion2000]

Originally posted by sardion2000

As Murc said, the oil isn't even going to enter the US, it's getting sent to japan.

More drilling isn't the answer and we are not running out of Oil! We are just running out of the cheap stuff and the longer we wait as someone above said the more pricey it will be to switch over.

A higher Pump price means more incentive for Americans to buy fuel efficient vehicles(and it also makes alternative fuels more competitive). Hybrids are the future, wether they be Gas hybrid or H2 bybrid they are a partial solution NOW!

Like sardion said. Except for the nasty bits, which I edited out.

...IMO - This is just another way to give away our nation's resources. It doesn't help ordinary Americans, or solve any of our big problems - and just creates more.

Actually Sofi you are right, I was watching the news it very clearly said that the drilling or taking of oil, will not affect the gas prices or make them better, because that is not the reason they are exploiting the oil reserves in Alaska after all.

Its only going to help the oil business industry while damaging the environment that the only reason is so pristine is because it has been regulated all these years.

Wait when the drilling starts spills and water become contaminated because drilling produced waste and water is needed, I wonder if they will hide it too.

Originally posted by sardion2000
I think by silent he was talking about the TV not the Internet

You clearly are thinking wrong. Media was clearly stated was it not?
The links I provided to are newspaper articles you do know they are considered as the media, do you not? BTW all major news networks did carry the story for the past week, that would include CNN, Fox and MSNBC.

As Murc said, the oil isn't even going to enter the US, it's getting sent to japan.

I acknowledged that fact and pointed out the oil from the east is sent barrel for barrel to the east coast and other ports. Did you miss that part?

More drilling isn't the answer and we are not running out of Oil! We are just running out of the cheap stuff and the longer we wait as someone above said the more pricey it will be to switch over.

Hmm to might want to check out that fact and get back to me. Oil in case you do not know it is a non renewable resource.

Originally posted by soficrow

Like sardion said. Except for the nasty bits, which I edited out.

...IMO - This is just another way to give away our nation's resources. It doesn't help ordinary Americans, or solve any of our big problems - and just creates more.

But they are not giving the oil away. What they are doing is exchanging oil gallon for gallon, that is unfit for US consumption by law to countries where it is allowed. That means we ship one ship to Japan and Japan in turns sends one ship to the US for US consumption no money exchanges hands.

Here is a better example. Lets say exon wants to ship x number of barrels of oil to the midwest using a pipe line. They put in 1 million gallons in texas and take out 1 million in chicago. The pipelines service Citgo, Exon, and many other companies. They also ship more then just oil.

www.aopl.org...



Just look at the ships as a pipeline

As I noted earlier some of the new refining processes can refine Alaska crude to meet out standards so they may in fact ship it to the US.

I know that Canada and US are considering building a Natural Gas pipeline for sure and possibly another Oil Pipe line direct to the US because of these new refineries.

Marge said
Wait when the drilling starts spills and water become contaminated because drilling produced waste and water is needed, I wonder if they will hide it too.

Never happen marge the rules are so strict and electronic sensors in the pipe line can detect even the very slightest spill.

We report and clean up spill incidents ranging from an accidental release of crude oil or produced water at a well site, to as small as a half cup of a chemical spilled on a warehouse floor.

alaska.bp.com...

Oh, shots you are being mislead by the same people that one to exploit Alaska oil reserves, spills happen all the time.

If the oil was to be part of our benefit I would be more pro than con, but the truth is that is not to benefit any of us, but the profiteers of the oil industry.

They don’t live in Alaska and they have not need for Alaska themselves.

Despite claims by the big oil companies that they can drill and have drilled responsibly on Alaska’s North Slope, spills are commonplace. At the Prudhoe Bay oilfield , just 60 miles west of the refuge, reportable spills of oil products and hazardous substances happen every day and are compounded by the noise and air pollution industrialization brings

Shots we as human and keepers of the planet for being the stronger member of the animal kingdom should take care of our resources and the lesser animals that cannot defend themselves.

Oil contamination from leaks in the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, during transfer to tankers, and from tanker accidents occurs frequently, too, most notably in 1989 when more than 10 million gallons of crude oil spilled from the Exxon Valdez into Prince William Sound. This spill contributed to the deaths of more than 250,000 seabirds, 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbor seals, 250 bald eagles and nearly two dozen whales, and continues to affect widlife populations today.

Oil drilling produces waste that is thrown into the air that is part of the pollution that you don’t see but you breath.

There is no guarantee oil from the refuge would ever reach American consumers because Alaska’s congressional delegates are strongly pushing to resume selling Alaskan oil to China, Korea, Japan and other foreign countries , a practice that was halted during recent oil company mergers.

The oil is not for our benefit, the American the only benefit we will get is the devastation that more drilling in such a pristine area is going to create.

Opening the door for more drilling in Alaska is going to become the biggest mistake we will allow the profiteers to make.

The odds are now overwhelmingly in their favor because Big Oil’s contributions to political campaigns have won them new allies in the White House and on Capitol Hill.

Every administration has been under fire by the opening of Alaska for drilling, but for some reason the Big Oil, contributors have won their way now into our politics, with their money and personal ties, our present administration does not care about the environment and that is how the big oil companies wanted their politicians to be.

Know something for sure, these companies do not hold any of us or the refuge of wild live in Alaska to their harts, is all money.

www.defenders.org...