As U.S. House candidate Chris Lien returns to South Dakota today after spending four days touring Alaska, the Anchorage Daily News reports Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) and other House Republicans are heading to the Artic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) this weekend.
The ADN article also mentions Lien's trip, and how several of the candidates who accompanied him are returning with even greater enthusiasm for drilling for more oil in ANWR.
The hopefuls have won press attention in their hometowns for visiting ANWR. They said the trip was about seeing the area for themselves.
They talked about how their home states are suffering from high gas prices and said domestic drilling should be a part of a national energy plan. The candidates said they were struck by how small the proposed drilling section was compared to the size of the refuge, by environmental protections at North Slope oil fields, and by support for drilling among Natives they spoke to in Barrow and Kaktovik.
"I came up here a supporter but I am now even more enthusiastic," said Greg Goode, who is running for a U.S. House seat in Indiana.
Also mentioned is the irony that both presidential candidates this year aren't very keen on drilling in ANWR, though John McCain has warmed to offshore drilling.
Alaska Governor Sarah Palin says she remains hopeful that if McCain is elected president, he may yet come around to drilling in ANWR.
Oil won't last forever (but it will be around for a long time, yet), and supply won't increase tomorrow if Congress approves drilling.
But if we had started drilling 10 years ago when the opposition protested we wouldn't have the oil for 7-10 years...we'd have that oil now, just when we need it most.
While we wait for alternative energy sources to become feasible, we need to keep strong the economic engine which fuels our economy, our prosperity, and ultimately our national defense. Families can't afford to sacrifice the grocery budget on the altar of environmental extremism.
1 comments:
We need to move forward with projects that will allow us to recover American petroleum. It will not take 10, or even 3 years to see prices come down. Even before a barrel of crude is pumped we will see dramatic reductions in oil costs.
When President Bush announced that he was rescinding the executive order banning off-shore drilling, a pretty much meaningless gesture, oil prices dropped $15 per barrel overnight! Such is the nature of commodities markets. Opening ANWR would begin to drop prices almost immediately. We need to do it now.
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