[IPSM] Senate Heads Back Down Controversial Road to Arctic Refuge Drilling

[Macdonald Stainsby]

for those who actually want to survive the coming oil crash, or those 
who believe that genocide is no less evil when it targets indigenous 
nations, this should be of major concern.

Macdonald


Senate Heads Back Down Controversial Road to Arctic Refuge Drilling


WASHINGTON - March 17 - The Senate voted last night to once again 
include drilling revenues from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in 
the federal budget, despite their defeat on a similar measure just 
months ago. Ignoring warnings about America’s oil addiction, a recent 
oil spill just to the west of the Arctic Refuge, and staunch opposition 
to sneaking the controversial provision into the budget, the Senate 
voted 51-49 in favor of the Budget Resolution which includes a 
speculative $3 billion to the federal treasury from Arctic drilling. The 
House, where Arctic drilling was blocked just last year, has yet to act 
on a budget this year.

"We deeply regret that some Senators are still willing to do Big Oil’s 
bidding, and we now turn to the House where the Arctic drilling scheme 
should be dead on arrival," said Carl Pope, Sierra Club Executive 
Director. "Americans are clamoring for a clean Congress and a clean 
energy plan, but sadly they were shortchanged on both today."

In a move to limit debate and opposition, drilling-obsessed politicians 
like Senator Stevens (R-AK) and Pete Domenici (R-NM) -- aided by Budget 
Chairman Judd Gregg (R-NH) -- are trying to sidestep the normal Senate 
rules by making this an "Arctic only" budget bill: the only instruction 
Sen. Gregg sent was to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

"By using the budget bill primarily as a vehicle for Arctic Refuge 
drilling, the Senate has dropped any pretense of working to balance the 
budget or reduce the deficit," said Pope. "The Senate is treating the 
budget process as a joke and a special interest gravy boat."

As the Senate voted on whether to let the oil industry in to the 
pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, BP workers in Alaska scrambled 
to contain a 200,000 gallon oil spill that went undetected for days. The 
spill, now widely reported as the largest crude oil spill in the history 
of the North Slope, casts doubt on the oil industry’s assurances of safe 
and clean technology.

"Blind to the dangers of oil drilling and what it could mean for 
wildlife and Alaska natives, advocates of Arctic drilling maniacally 
push forward," said Pope. "The only winner in this equation is the oil 
industry. The losers are the American people who could lose a pristine 
wilderness, perhaps to a fate similar to the oil-stained Prudhoe Bay."

The next step is the Senate Energy Committee which will craft 
legislation to authorize opeing the Arctic Refuge to oil drilling. That 
language will be folded into the overall Budget Reconciliation bill 
which must be passed by the entire Senate. The Senate will then have to 
conference its version with the House which has not yet taken up a 
budget resolution this year. The conference report is then subject to a 
straight up or down vote in both the House and Senate.

Last year, a similar attempt failed to pass the House of Representatives 
where objections from moderate Republicans forced leadership to strip 
Arctic drilling language from a larger budget package. In a desperate 
move, Senator Stevens attached Arctic drilling to a defense spending 
bill, a move that was repudiated by the Senate.

"We thank those Senators, both Republican and Democrat, who stood firm 
against tremendous pressure from the Bush administration, pro-drilling 
members of Congress and their allies in the oil industry," said Pope. 
"They recognize that the budget is an inappropriate place to decide 
controversial national policy matters like America's energy policy. We 
urge all members of Congress to remain steadfast in their belief that 
the vast, unspoiled wilderness of America’s Arctic National Wildlife 
Refuge is more than a line item in the Federal Budget."

We can start saving oil today and curb global warming by making our cars 
go farther on a gallon of. Using existing fuel-saving technology, we 
could save more oil by increasing fuel economy than we currently import 
from the entire Persian Gulf and could ever get out of the Arctic 
Refuge, combined. The technology also exists to develop renewable energy 
sources like wind and solar power while boosting energy efficiency.

"We need an honest, balanced energy plan that gives us cleaner, cheaper 
and safer energy solutions and protects spectacular wild places like the 
Arctic Refuge and America’s fragile coasts," said Pope.

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-- 
Macdonald Stainsby
http://independentmedia.ca/survivingcanada
http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/rad-green
In the contradiction lies the hope
    --Bertholt Brecht.