Why Is Alaskan Oil Still Off Limits?

Given the high cost of energy and our insane dependence on oil from nations that hate us, it seems imperative that we better develop our own resources to become more independent. But radicals continue to oppose every proposal to advance our nation's energy policy. When will be able to tap into the rich resources we already have? When will we be able to simply build another oil refinery?

We had a chance recently to make the rich oil sources in Alaska available, but Republican leaders recently worked to oppose that. Here's the an excerpt from the a story by by William F. Jasper at The New American, Nov. 23, 2005:

Bowing to radical environmentalists and a group of 26 so-called Republican "moderates," House GOP leaders agreed on November 9 to strike language from the proposed Deficit Reduction Act that would open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil drilling.

The 19-million-acre ANWR has been closed to all drilling since Jimmy Carter signed Public Law 96-487 in December 1980. Efforts to undo this disastrous policy over the past 25 years have failed repeatedly, often by excruciatingly slim votes. This year, however, sky-high energy prices, the devastating impact of hurricane Katrina, and increasing public concern over the economic and national security ramifications of our dependency on foreign oil combined to make opening ANWR a very doable proposition. But instead of seizing this rare opportunity to correct a terribly flawed policy, House Republican leaders caved in to the Green wing of the party and its well-funded, militant supporters.

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Sierra Club, and other extremists insist that any drilling in the ANWR will cause irreparable damage to pristine wildlife habitat, but the facts speak otherwise. The proposed drilling would affect a mere 2,000 acres of tundra within the 19-million-acre reserve, which, in turn, is but a small portion of Alaska’s total land area of more than 360 million acres. Yet the small 2,000-acre slice of ANWR at issue is believed to contain at least 10.4 billion barrels of badly needed oil. The oil can be extracted with little negative impact to the environment. The same environmental tactics were used a generation ago in attempts to stop construction of the Prudhoe Bay oil pipeline. The activists insisted the pipeline would destroy the caribou herds. Instead, the caribou have thrived alongside the pipeline, increasing in population nearly five times their numbers prior to construction.

The effort to stop the ANWR oil drilling was led by Rep. Charles Bass (R-N.H.)

This means we will continue forking money over to enemy nations for oil. Smart thinking! Well, on the bright side, those of you holding energy stocks that rise with high oil and natural gas prices are in for some further gains, in my opinion. Valero (VLO), a leading refiner, or Exxon (XOM) might be good bets (I especially like EQT, ATLS, STR and KMP). But hey, I'd rather lose a little money in my energy stocks but save the country. Wish the Republican Party saw things that way.

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