Arctic Drilling a Threat to Wildlife - Environmental Whackos in our government

Arctic Drilling a Threat to Wildlife Fri Mar 29, 2:15 AM ET By H. JOSEF HEBERT, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Caribou and other wildlife are vulnerable and may face substantial risk if oil is developed in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, according to a study by government scientists.

The findings by Interior Department biologists paint a more threatening picture to wildlife should Congress lift its long-standing ban on development of the refuge than drilling advocates have portrayed.

The report, being released Friday by the U.S. Geological Survey (news - web sites), acknowledges that in many cases the risks to a variety of wildlife, including musk-oxen, polar bears and migrating birds, could be reduced by restrictions and close management of oil exploration and production.

Still the report, a copy of which was obtained late Thursday by The Associated Press, is likely to provide new ammunition to those vowing to block efforts in Congress next month to allow oil companies into the refuge.

"Once again the administration has released a report undermining its own case," said Sen. Joe Lieberman (news - web sites), D-Conn., claiming the findings confirm "the environmental destruction that would occur" if the refuge were opened to oil development.

Recently, an Energy Department report suggested that oil from the refuge would provide only modest reductions in U.S. oil imports.

Drilling in ANWR, as the refuge is called, is a top energy priority of the White House.

While the study makes no recommendation on whether the refuge should be developed, it concludes that the region's wildlife are especially vulnerable to the kinds of disturbances that development may bring.

For example, it concludes that the Porcupine caribou herd, which uses the coastal plain for calving each summer, "may be particularly sensitive to development" because it has little quality habitat elsewhere and historically it has been shown that calf survival is linked to the animals' ability to move freely.

The 78-page report is based on an examination of 12 years of research into wildlife activities and the ecology of the Arctic refuge's 1.5 million-acre coastal plain — the area that also may contain about 11.4 billion barrels of oil.

As with the case of the caribou, the study found that development of the refuge's coastal plain may pose risks to other wildlife:

_The musk-oxen was described as particularly "vulnerable to disturbances" from oil and gas exploration because they live in the region year-round, including winter when exploration would be most intense.

_Snow geese, among the millions of migratory birds on the coastal plain, may be displaced because of increased activity, including air traffic. It cannot be assumed the geese will find adequate feeding areas elsewhere, the study says.

_Denning polar bears, another fixture on the coastal plain, also might be adversely affected, the assessment said, but added in this case "aggressive and proactive management" of the development could minimize — or even eliminate — most of the problem.

As for the caribou, the report said "oil development will most likely result in restricting the location of concentrated calving areas" and lead to fewer calves being able to survive and, in turn, possibly a decline in the herd.

In a memo to Interior Secretary Gale Norton, the director of the U.S. Geological Survey, Charles Groat, said he wanted to "clarify certain aspects" of the report, including that the research also showed "with mitigation the effect of human development ... could be minimal" where most wildlife are concerned.

But Groat acknowledged that adverse risks to the Porcupine caribou "would depend on the type of development and where the development occurred."

Norton repeatedly has said the refuge's oil can be extracted without harm to the environment or the region's wildlife, arguing that modern drilling techniques can minimize the intrusion into what environmentalists view as one of the world's most pristine and ecologically significant areas.

Interior spokesman Mark Pfeifle said Norton believes the concerns raised in the report will be addressed by the limits that will be put on oil development should Congress lift its current ban on drilling.

Those include limiting the "footprint" that development will have on the terrain and requiring the exploration be conducted only in winter. Oil production would be allowed year-round under legislation now in Congress.

Kenneth Whitten, a retired Alaska state biologist who participated in writing the chapter on the caribou, said in a telephone interview that some of the mitigation proposals are unrealistic.

In case of polar bears, Whitten said, "we don't know where all the dens are. Almost surely during winter we'll be disturbing bears" during oil exploration.

"There's intense pressure within the Department of Interior to come up with findings of no impact," Whitten added.

Bill Seiz, the regional director of the U.S. Geological Survey in Alaska, acknowledged "there are risks" to the wildlife, but those can be controlled depending on how development occurs.

The report "doesn't make any judgment about development," said Seiz. "It looks at basic science, the things that ought to be looked at if the area is to be developed."

What a huge pile of dung.

These lunchbags have a deemed "wildlife refuge" the size of the state of North Carolina completely off limits to the citizens that own it. The caribou don't give 2 craps about any damn oil rigs or pipelines, it's just another furry critter propaganda ploy aimed at the ignorants.

They did the same thing when they started the fraudulent "wetlands" land grab. Years ago they sold it to the ignorant public by telling everyone that it was to protect fluffy and cute waterfowl. Now, they've incrementalized their agenda to the point where in my area, if you have any one of 8 different types of soil, or any one of hundreds of different types of plants or animal on your property it can be deemed "wetlands".

These a$$holes need to be exposed for the egregious liars they are. They lied to everyone on every high profile initiative they've undertaken whether it was global warming, the spotted owl, lynx populations, Klamath salmon or drilling in Alaska.

They'll ruin your town, your family, your farm, your business and your way of life to further their cause. Envirofascist orgs (private and public) are full of leftists that hate capitalism in general and property rights in particular.

The truth is they treat us as the enemy, and until we start treating them likewise we'll get more of the same. These freaks need to be stopped and we need to stop them.

The Democratic Party is dangerously close to extinction. It is only the power of the propaganda from the media and the political skills of the Democrats themselves that has saved them. They successfully push an un-American agenda on a largely ignorant public through a paid advertising barrage combined with the uniform support of the media. Even the traditional base of the Democrats is slowly turning against them. Conservatism is on the rise and people are slowly but surely getting the message.

The problem is that they are not getting the message quickly enough. And for every two steps forward the Republicans in Congress take one step back. The party leadership of the Republicans is scared too death of the media on slaught every time they stand up for their principles. The loss of a single seat scares them to death. Everyone of them takes an introspective look after one conservative or any Republican goes down in an election and says there but for the grace of God, go I. In short they sacrifice their principles on the excuse that the country is far better off if they remain in office. God forbid that they could lose to Democrat. Then where would we be?

I think it is time to administer shock treatment to the Republicans in Congress and to Bush himself. I think conservatives should not vote Republican in November. And they must vote conservative, but not for any Democrat, whether the Democrat claims to be conservative or is portrayed to be more conservative than his Republican opponent. The Repubilicans should be removed from power in the House and should not be returned to the majority in the Senate. And all those votes that did not go to Republicans should be clearly recorded for libertarian candidates, Constitutional Party candidates or any other third party candidate that has readily apparent conservative principles. After Newt was defeated (and is important to note that he was not defeated because he was conservative, he was defeated because of his personal character defects), Republicans in Congress took that there but for the grace...bit to the limit. If they can do it Newt, they can do it to me approach. They have moved left and never looked back. We need to remove those that we can, and scare the rest to death. If Bush can't controll the government against a Democratic House and Senate with the people behind him, then we will need to replace Bush in the 2004 elections as well. Reagan certainly managed to control the Democrats with the power of the people behind him. There are some who believe that Bush may be able to achieve more than Reagan. I have my doubts, but he definitely needs a kick in the butt to get his attention and get him back on track. If he doesn't have genuine conservative principles or the political skills to contain the Democrats, then he should be replaced.

The problem with the stealth or creeping conservative approach is the amount of time required to take the country back. Incrementalism will not work in this case. The Democrats have had over 70 years to corrupt the system. One thing the Democrats are pros at corrupting things and they have done a professional job on government, the courts, our educational systems, and our society. Most Americans have not carefully examined the financial realities of Social Security and Medicare. Quite frankly, the unfunded liabilties of these two programs cannot be funded in fashion that will be politically acceptable to anyone. If we don't solve this problem before the President elected in 2008 leaves office, we are going to see an inter-generational clash that will tear the United States apart. Somebody's ox is going to get gored. It is only question of whose and how bad will it be. Even as productive as this country can be, we cannot grow the economy (without massive inflation) sufficiently to pay for these socialistic atrocities. They must be privatized as quickly, as fairly, and as painlessly as possible. Medicare, by far, has the potential to do the most harm, but because it is by far the more politically sensitive, I don't think anyone will be allowed to tinker with Medicare before fixing SS. Fortunately, SS can be privatized fairly quickly, fairly and with no one losing any benefits to which they are currently or will become entitled. The CATO plan based on zero coupon bonds works if we act within the next five years.

In summary, the United States is going to break down completely and disintegrate before 2016 if we do not replace the socialistic programs put in place by the Democrats. I don't think the Republicans or the rest oif America are willing to face this reality without a major political shock to replace the weak and to strengthen the resolve of the survivors. For the next few years we need to begin to think about the fact that we are engaged in a political war that will determine whether the United States will continue to survive. There is still time to take corrective action, but only if the people in power recognize the need and the urgency of the problem. When you have a stubborn obstacle to problem solving. Sometimes you have to hit them between the eyes with a large stick. This fall's election is our chance to get their attention.

For a long time, I have been one of the leading nay-sayers begging people to remain loyal to the Republican party. I can't count the number of times that I have asked people on this site to remember that any vote not cast for a Republican is the equivalent of voting for the Democrat. And we have seen three consecutive elections for president where third parties have changed the outcome of the election. Clinton could not have been elected without that incompetent, arrogant, egotistical, little half-wit. And every day I hope somebody from this site will send a campaign contribution to Ralph Nader. Five cents of every dollar collected to support this web site, should be given to Nader's campaign if he runs again. Now we need to provide a clear definition to the Republicans that conservatives mean business. Until they understand that we insist they do it now or we will get somebody else that will, they are not going to change. In my humble opinion, we have reached the nut-cutting. The United States as a country is on the line. We are late in the fourth quarter and the clock is running out. There is not enough time left to stick to the original game plan. We tried it, and thanks to Reagan and the 1994 election; it almost worked. Unfortunately, our quarterbacks fumbled the ball too many times between 1996 and 2000 leaving us in a deep hole. There is still time for a hail Mary play. I have offered mine. I think it based on sound reasoning and logic and that it will come closer to working than any other strategy that I have been able to see.

I think the administration is solid as far as the requisite skills are concerned. Frankly, no President has ever assembled a better cabinet. And our back-up quarterback is arguably more talented and experienced than our starter. But we have some weaknesses on the rest of the team, and the whole team's performances lack inspiration. As the team's owners, our job is to put the fear of God back in the whole team while we are strengthening some positions. They need to know they have to win or we will get somebody that will.

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