Posted on 03/15/2005 9:46:04 AM PST by governsleastgovernsbest
Caribou, Maine? That's Susan Collins Country.
If Alaska is a tennis court, the arctic national wildlife refuge represents a newpaper placed in a corner. The do-gooders would have you think its going to trash at least half of that great state. The natives think that drilling a great idea, representing jobs, civilization, etc. And as far as `protecting Mother Earth' the caribou population along the Alaska pipeline has actually increased.
You would think the ELF-friends would tire of sneaking up on us, trying to spackle our hind-ends with bird-lime, but every day & in every way, there they are--putty knives in hand. Zo, we wave our naughty bits in the faces of your maiden aunties, silly liberal enviro-kaniggets!
Thinking about this, what is really pathetic is that I don't think for a second that Kerry even BELIEVES this. He's not a complete imbecile. He knows that the proposed drilling is no threat to ANWR.
He is simply trying to curry favor with the enviro wing of the Dem party, with a view to the 2008 primaries. And in doing so he's willing to sell the national security and economic interests of America down the river.
And that newspaper is the New York Times ;-)
Except the Caribou don't have JOBS!!!! They're all homeless as well. Think of the economic benefit of drilling for the Caribou! I guess they could just go on wellfare...
more pictures for everyone to see at www.anwr.org check them out!
My mother, who's an insane, bleeding heart, rich, white, knee-jerk, liberal democrat sent me a similar letter from Robert Kennedy and the National Resource Defense Council (NRDC) sniff, sniff...After I sent her the following column by Jobah Goldberg, she sent a quote from Reagan "If you've seen one redwood tree then you've seen them all" and then harumphed "I just hope there's some wilderness left when your kids grow up"
Sigh.....it's absolutely hopeless trying to deal with anyone who believes this crap.....
Harldy a pretty place: Use ANWR for oil exploration
July 24, 2001 Jonah Goldberg
http://www.jewishworldreview.com -- "EVEN if there were oil, let's say, in Central Park, in the Everglades, in Yosemite Valley, in the Redwoods, do we want to develop oil there?" asked Deborah Williams in a recent broadcast of "60 Minutes." Williams, the executive director of the Alaska Conservation Foundation, believes the answer is obviously "No."
Williams is one of the leading spokespeople against oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, or ANWR ("Anwar"). And this argument has been offered, almost verbatim, by Jimmy Carter, Tom Daschle, Dick Gephardt and a host of others. It's a strong, persuasive argument. In fact there's only one problem with it: It's completely false.
How do I know? Well, because I've been there. I recently returned from a trip (for a National Review article) to several hundred miles above the Arctic Circle to see what has become the Dome of the Rock of environmentalism. I've also been to Central Park.
So, having been both places, let me tell you what's wrong with the comparison.
First of all, if New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani learned that there were between 3 and 16 (ital) billion (end ital) barrels of oil underneath Central Park, he would be out there first thing Monday morning laying down orange traffic cones to save parking spaces for the roughnecks.
But more to the point, Central Park is in many ways the exact opposite of the tiny sliver of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge being considered for oil development. Central Park is manmade, literally. The original land was filled with shanty towns sitting on mud flats and populated by dirt-poor Irish, blacks and Germans. Today, Central Park is beautiful and millions of people move through its 843 acres either by foot or by car every day.
Now, consider ANWR. It is in Alaska, a state whose entire population is roughly equal to the city of Milwaukee, Wis. At the same time, the 49th state is big enough to fit France, Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom and Italy (ital) combined (end ital) with room to spare. ANWR itself is huge by the standards of the lower 48, about the size of South Carolina, or the equivalent of more than 21,000 Central Parks.
The differences don't end there.
While preparing for my trip to ANWR, I'd read that this was the most beautiful place on Earth. This was the famous "American Serengeti," as the enviros call it. Senator Joseph Lieberman, denouncing George Bush and Dick Cheney, predicted that oil exploration in ANWR "would cause irreversible damage to one of G-d's most awesome creations."
So, I was a little surprised to discover that if you wanted a picture to go with the word "G-dforsaken" in the dictionary, ANWR would do nicely.
Actually, that's not fair. You see, the environmentalists and their compatriots in the media play a dirty trick on the public. Most of ANWR is beautiful. But the pretty mountains and lakes you see on the evening news are safe from oil exploration by law and by the fact that there's no oil there.
The oil is on the coastal plain at the very top of ANWR on the coast of the Arctic Ocean. And that ain't beautiful. Believe me.
Winter on the coastal plain lasts for nine months. Total darkness reigns for 58 straight days. The temperatures drop to 70 degrees below zero without wind chill. This is the time of year when the oil companies would do almost all of their work; when nary a caribou nor any other creature would be dumb enough to venture out on to the frozen tundra for long.
Regardless, ANWR's summer is no picnic either. The coastal plain is covered in a thick brick of ice for much of the year. When it melts, it creates, well, puddles. Lots and lots of puddles - and mud. This provides the lebensraum that mosquitoes and other flying critters need to stretch their wings.
In short, the section that Lieberman claims as one of "G-d's most awesome creations" is a colossal fetid petri dish for some of the worst flying pestilence you can imagine. Every moment I was outside, the mosquitoes swarmed around me like John McCain near a TV camera.
The myth has been perpetuated that wildlife on the "American Serengeti" is more fragile than a butterfly's wings, especially for the exalted caribou. But, in next-door Prudhoe Bay, the number of caribou has increased fivefold since oil exploration began decades ago.
One explanation for the caribou's success in Prudhoe is that the infrastructure gives the caribou an opportunity to hide from the trillions of mosquitoes, as well as the nostril flies (yes, they lay their eggs in the caribou's nose) and parasitic warble flies that make life a living hell for the animals.
Opponents of drilling in ANWR succeed by appealing to the imaginations of guilty liberal environmentalists. So they compare ANWR to places we humans go and enjoy, like Central Park, Yosemite and other of G-d's "most awesome creations."
If you don't want to drill for oil in ANWR that's fine. But don't slander G-d by saying this giant mosquito pool is among his finest works.
Oh, please no, I watch Senate proceedings and I just couldn't stand to listen to that buzzard drone on and on about a place he probably has never been to---
I know that a congressional delegation DID got there recently so that they could see exactly how small of an area would be needed, and also how desolate of an area that is frozen tundra like 10 months of the year---
They even had town hall meetings with the hundreds(only) of people that actually live and work close to there---they would love the jobs and money that this would bring--
Leave it to Kerry to pick a cause that is sssssssoooo left that most people don't even notice---
He would NEVER put his name on a bill that actually had political ramifications that could be used against him in an election---
I said he was a coward 2 years ago, and nothing has changed my mind.
Hey, there's a first time for everything!
kerry promised in one of his campaign stops to drill in anwar to union workers even though a few appearances before he was against it when he spoke at an enviromental group he changes to appease the group he is in front of, he is attempting to shore up his base for 2008 he did the same in regard to coal mining he really is SICK!!!!!!!!!!!
"Guess Kerry is giving up on people and instead focusing on the Caraboo vote!"
'Why there are cases where Republicans have acted like Gennguess Kahn, savagely raped and tortured Carboo, cut of limbs, cut of ears, shot them in the back....'
Quote from John Kerry's Winter Caraboo Meeting
Intresting. I live in Ak. Kerry is a moron. This state needs ANWR. I have pictures of caribou feeding next to the oil rigs.
Nothing is harmed. Libs fight so hard against ANWR....but not one of them has ever been to ANWR. And whoever posted that Kerry move here....thats torture.
Why is a Texas girl in PA?
Dang it, I was in the oil business instead of pharma, I'd be in Texas and not have to deal with all this snow, sleet, cold weather. And I would be eating TexMex, enjoying San Antonio or Austin. Or even Fredericksburg.
How about those who oppose ANWR drilling, continue to pay OPEC big bucks and not be allowed to buy ANWR oil?
Let Kerry and the missus survive on an average American salary and pay rent, food, medical, etc., and heating expenses. Then let's hear him moan about the Alaskan wildlife refuge.
And the ugly windfans Kerry doesn't like near Nantucket...they spoil the view. God forbid they help our energy needs.
My understanding of the oil industry here in TX is, they intend to start drilling in many areas again. There is quite a bit of oil here, that up until now was too expensive to get out the ground.
I have some friends who used to work the rigs years ago. I talked with one this past weekend, and he may be going back to being a roughneck.
bump
great article
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.