Some places in Alaska are simply too special to open up for oil drilling.
In January, President Obama announced he will recommend that Congress permanently protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska as a wilderness area.
But this rhetoric doesn’t square with reality. The federal government has sold enough drilling rights on Alaska lands to cover the state of Delaware, but 99 percent of those lands are sitting idle, waiting for oil and gas companies to decide to develop them.
With ample drilling opportunities already afforded to the oil and gas industry, we need not, and should not, spoil the pristine expanses of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge or the most sensitive waters in the Arctic Ocean. Some places are simply too special to drill.
To be sure, Alaska is facing its biggest energy challenge in a decade. With oil prices falling, production from the Prudhoe Bay area sagging, and the state government’s revenues from oil and gas potentially collapsing, Alaska’s elected officials are under intense pressure to reverse their state’s economic fortunes.
Instead of scapegoating the federal government, however, now is the time to assess the reality of current energy markets and to build an energy plan for Alaska’s future.
Via seattletimes.com
image credit APEonline
