Never Ending Story

Congressman Pombo, Washington's version of Vlad the Impaler, is at it again. He will try to insert language into a bill tomorrow that will allow drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. This is just a Never Ending Story. It really does make true the statement that enviros always use, "all of our victories are temporary and all of our defeats are permanent."

Here are arguements why drilling in the Alaskan refuge don't make sense.

We can’t drill our way to lower gas prices. The US consumes 25 percent of the world’s oil every year, but we sit on only 3 percent of the world’s supply.

Proposals to drill in the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, unspoiled landscapes in the Rocky Mountain West, and along America’s fragile coasts won’t provide relief at the pump. The Energy Department’s own figures show that drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge wouldn’t lower gas prices by more than about a penny a gallon, 20 years from now.

There are some places that should be off-limits to oil drilling and industrial development, and the Arctic Refuge is one of them. The harm to polar bears, caribou, millions of migratory birds, and to the subsistence way of life of the Gwich’in people would be permanent and irreparable. We have a moral responsibility to save wild places like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for future generations. That’s why our country has remained committed to its protection for nearly 50 years.

Clean renewable energy sources and making our cars go farther on a gallon of gas are the best ways to reduce consumers’ costs now and in the future. They are the fastest, cheapest, cleanest way to reduce families’ energy costs, increase energy security, end our dangerous oil addiction, and reduce global climate change. Instead of wasting time on dead-end drilling in a National Wildlife Refuge, Congress should be focusing on things that would make a real difference.

This was put together by my colleagues at the Wilderness Society. They have killed these drilling attempts in Alaska a dozen times and reprobates like Pombo keep coming back for more. He only has to win once.