Posted on 01/21/2008 4:10:04 AM PST by saganite
Environmentalists welcomed a bill introduced Thursday by the chairman of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming that would delay the sale of land in Alaska for oil exploration. They believe the Department of Interior has delayed classifying the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act until after they can sell this land, which is also polar bear habitat.
"The only thing keeping pace with the melting of the sea ice is the breakneck speed with which the Department of the Interior is rushing to approve oil and gas activities in polar bear habitat," said Kassie Siegel, director of the Center for Biological Diversity's Climate, Air and Energy Program, a liberal organization.
"This oil and gas sale must not proceed, because the impacts to polar bears have not been considered," Siegel said.
Biological Diversity is one of several environmental groups that sued the Department of Interior for failing to meet their deadline for classifying the polar bear on Jan. 9, 2008. If the polar bear is not listed as an endangered species, Siegel said they will take the government to court.
Committee Chairman Ed Markey's bill would require that the Interior Department delay the oil drilling rights sale in the Chukchi Sea (for Sale 193) - currently scheduled for Feb. 6 - until it had made a decision on the polar bear.
According to Randall Luthi, director of the Minerals Management Service, "the Chukchi Sea Planning Area could hold 15 billion barrels of oil and 76 trillion cubic feet of natural gas ... thus providing potentially significant future production of oil and gas from Northern Alaska."
"Sale 193 was originally scheduled for June 2007, but we delayed the sale until February 2008 to provide sufficient time to complete the environmental analyses," he said in his testimony for the select committee on Thursday.
Dale Hall, director of the Fish and Wildlife Service, added that "a review of various factors led to a determination that these activities do not threaten polar bears throughout all or a significant portion of its range."
"It's just absurd," countered Siegel. "There is a 40 percent chance of an oil spill. That's incredible. That's like saying you have a 40 percent chance of being hit by a bus, you would consider that a really big problem, and you would do something about it.
"By holding up the polar bear finding just a little bit, they're going ahead with this sale before looking at the impacts on polar bears," she told Cybercast News Service. Siegel noted that Luthi said they would not look at the impacts before approving development if the sale occurs before a decision on whether to list the polar bear.
But while Siegel said she was "excited to hear about the new legislation," Myron Ebell, director of energy and global warming policy at the conservative Competitive Enterprise Institute, told Cybercast News Service, "I think that Rep. Markey's bill is a short-sighted attempt to block domestic energy production by using unsubstantiated claims about the polar bear.
"Rep. Markey and too many other members of Congress are willing to use any tools available to stop oil production in this country," he said. "Then they complain about high gasoline prices and importing oil from countries they don't like."
Siegel, however, said it would be many years before oil could be on the market from the Chukchi Sea, so it has little impact on gas prices.
Enviros plan to block development of more Alaskan gas and oil.
~~Anthropogenic Global Warming ™ ping~~
Why is it that these so called debates from both parties fail to ask this question...for or against... Instead they ask shallow foolish nonsense...
These TRAITORS need to be tarred and feathered.
E. Markey (D) Mass. if not screwing around with Daylight Savings Time, playing with Polar Bears. A real seat warmer.
We need the oil. If it comes between Security of my Country and Polar Bears, Polar Bears lose.
They are shallow rudderless skulls full of mush.
They are the verbose liberal pansies who rule our lives and have legions of staff members who write the pap they spew whenever they're in session.
These political elite bums rarely have an original thought and when they do you get bloviating simpleton murderers like Teddy Kennedy huffing and puffing over something that after he gets through the first paragraph forgets what the hell the topic was.
We have been in deep trouble for decades thanks to these liberal (communist) pansies who should be an embarrassment to every American.
That probably won't happen. The Democrat party isn't exactly out of touch with its base. The people living in these areas would probably fully support such a stupid bill.
Besides, they can just get free oil from Hugo Chavez.
Drill the oil! We are being hammered here!
Build Nuclear plants!
Build the refineries needed!
Build clean coal fired generators! We have lots of coal!
Get rid of this Luddite, anti everything attitude.
first they screamed about “Global Cooling” and they mandated catalytic converters to stop that.
Converters convert CO to Co2 and H2O
Now they say that the CO2 is pollution!
Give us a break. - Before we decide to string up some of these nuts. - I'm ready.
Perhaps with torches and pitchforks? WANTED: HOT TAR AND FEATHERS... I”VE GOT A RAIL!!
“House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming”
Biggest Oxymoron of the year so far.
Impeach them all, especially the Junior Senator from Gnu Yak.
“House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming”
Kinda like calling the biggest propaganda organ in the world Pravda (Truth) isn’t it?
We’ll have to see where this bill goes. So far it’s just a proposed bill by a committee. It still has a very long way to go. If it gets through congress and Bush signs it I’ll be surprised. The Enviros will probably use the courts (and have far more luck) to stop drilling in the area.
I think there is something to this. There is virtually no ice whatsoever here in S.E. Michigan on Lake St. Clair and this has caused the complete disappearance of our wandering herds of polar bears.
Now its possible they may have just migrated northward but there haven't been any sightings in Port Huron or further north in Alpena either. I fear they may have all drowned.........
How do we achieve “energy Independence” if the recommendation delays our ability to attempt that because of a bear?
The entire thing reeks of Communist mentality whereby agency names are simply lies and the agencies themselves do the opposite.
There in lies the problem. The commies in America went green. This enviro movement to save the polar bears at the expense of oil independents is probably being pushed by a bunch of commies in disguise.
I’d have a hard time caring if you took every polar bear on earth and reduced them to a couple dozen vials of DNA, stashed them in a time capsule dated 3008 AD, and sent them to a secret vault on the moon.
Such the GOP nominate pretty much any of the current front runners, then I will be sitting this one out.
And thats a first.
Bears - snort
I wish we had a Conservative President
>is probably being pushed by a bunch of commies in disguise.
Shh. They call themselves “progressive” now.
The left wants the issue, never the solution. From inner cities, education, the economy to oil policy, the left stands on America’s windpipe and derides it for dying from lack of air.
Traitors who deserve what traitors used to get.
From inner cities, education, the economy to oil policy, the left stands on America’s windpipe and derides it for dying from lack of air.
Well said!
FDFN bears.
With regards to endangered species, it doesn’t matter when or if property is sold. If a species becomes endangered and a critical habitat is identified, then the property owner would have to do environmental studies to mitigate impacts to the species. If the impacts are deemed too severe even with mitigation then no project or permit. Therefore this whole argument is moot.
Sometimes by a single vote — John McCain’s vote.
There was another screed on cbs last night about GW. There was a section on polar bears. Pure crapola! They showed a melting glacier that was covered in ash from a volcano, but couldn’t, just wouldn’t, blame the volcano for the melting! Amazing!
I wonder what the oil bill for 24 Townsend St. Malden MA is, or does Fast Eddie get a delivery from Joe-4-Oil on the sly? Not that Ed really lives there. But he did blow into town for the City Council’s inauguration. What a swill guy.
No sweat. They will be pursuing it in court before activist judges. You didn’t really expect them to attack on only one front did you?
You’re probably more versed in the law than me (wouldn’t take much!) but couldn’t they delay it under the endangered species act?
I am surprised somebody has never just paid someone to finish off an endangered animal to end this nonsense.
Thanks for the info. So this just leaves the bill in the House. I would expect a Bush veto if it gets that far. Of course, then the media will have a field day portraying Bush as a polar bear murderer.
This nation has gone mad. It is all over.
A worldwide population of just 20,000 would likely become extinct no matter what we do. Where is the Sabertooth Tiger?
Thanks again
20,000 represents quite an improvement in their numbers from years ago.
Here’s the letter Markey sent a day after the introduction to the bill. Note the tone of desperation in the letter because he knows the bill won’t pass.
After the signing of the International Agreement on Polar Bears in the 1970s, harvests were controlled and the numbers increased. There is no argument from anyone on this point.
Ask the Experts: Are Polar Bear Populations Increasing?
http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/ask-the-experts/population/
Polar Bears International is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the worldwide conservation of the polar bear.
I stand corrected. So if the population is increasing then there is even less reason to block oil exploration.
Huh?
did I say anything about enviromental property laws or is this a generic statement?
I don’t care about bears being the lords of all they survey.
Drill like crazy.
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