Democrates Vow to Filibuster Alaska Oil Drilling

Yahoo News ^ | 4/10/02 | Tom Dogget

[Lucky2]

Democrats Vow to Filibuster Alaska Oil Drilling Wed Apr 10, 5:03 PM ET By Tom Doggett

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman (news - web sites) of Connecticut promised on Wednesday to filibuster any move to amend a pending energy bill to allow drilling in pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Republican lawmakers are citing Iraq's decision on Monday to cut off oil exports for 30 days to protest the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as another reason why the United States must be able to tap ANWR's reserves and become less dependent on foreign crude.

Lieberman criticized Republicans for using the Middle East crisis to push their drilling agenda.

"The fact remains that drilling in the refuge would not produce a drop of oil for a decade, far beyond the time of the current crisis, and even then far too little to change the skewed foreign oil dependence equation," Lieberman told reporters.

Lieberman was joined by other lawmakers and environmental groups at a Capitol Hill news conference to protest drilling in the refuge.

"The Middle East crisis is far too complicated to be calmed by drilling in the Arctic, and the fact that we're hearing such a far-flung argument tells me that our opponents don't have the votes," Lieberman said.

Under the Senate's complicated rules, controversial measures like drilling in the ANWR need the support of 60 of the chamber's 100 lawmakers to end debate and permit a vote.

A Reuters survey last month found only 40 senators would go on the record in favor of drilling in the refuge. Fifty lawmakers wanted to keep oil companies out of the area and 10 senators said they were undecided on the issue.

Republican Sen. Frank Murkowski of Alaska has said he will offer an amendment this week to the energy bill to open the refuge to exploration.

Lieberman and most other Democrats say there is not enough oil in the refuge to significantly cut back on foreign crude imports, and therefore the area should be kept off-limits to drilling to protect ANWR's wildlife.

The Bush administration and most Republican lawmakers argue that the refuge's potential 10 billion barrels could replace the amount of oil the United States imports from Iraq for 35 years. Iraq is the No. 6 oil supplier to the U.S. market.

Murkowski claims when U.S. drivers pull up to the gasoline pump they are indirectly funding the suicide bombers in Israel. Iraqi President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) pays the family of each suicide bomber $25,000.

A coalition of Jewish groups, including the American Jewish Congress, on Tuesday urged the Senate to pass an energy bill that allows drilling in ANWR.

Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine said the fastest and cheapest way to reduce oil imports would be to raise the mileage requirements for cars and gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles.

However, both Democratic and Republican lawmakers already voted against modifying the energy bill to significantly boost vehicle fuel standards.

[RightWhale]

stop us from producing our own oil

America is already producing nearly as much oil as is Saudi Arabia or Russia.

[Wphile]

I think it is high time we return the Northern Eastern United States to its natural and rightful habitat. GOD, THIS MAKES ME SOOOOOOO MAD!!!

Look whose running the filibuster show: Snowe (from Maine), Liebermann (from Connecticut), and Kerry (from Mass). Oh, I'm sure Clinton and Schumer (from NY) support it too and probably Collins (from Maine) and Kennedy (from Mass) and....They are such a stuck up bunch of snobs that want to tell the West how to DO things!!! Bast**ds!

[Clara Lou]

Question:
Why aren't those who support drilling in Alaska and who know very well about the history of drilling in arctic Alaska making the facts public? It doesn't seem to me that they are bothering. That's what's so strange to me. Lieberman and Daschle get away with the things they say, and I can't see one Republican hitting them with facts.
In the meantime, Daschle and Lieberman say that ANWR isn't the solution to our oil dependency problem. No one ever said that ANWR was the solution. It's part of the solution.

[Wphile]

[alnick]

The fact remains that drilling in the refuge would not produce a drop of oil for a decade

Well then we'd best get a move on.

[MarineDad]

Given the world's current circumstances, the dems may be unwittingly writing off the 2002 elections. Should we diccourage them from doing so?

Good, good point! If it weren't for the need to consider the immediate needs of the nation first and foremost, it WOULD be great to just sit back and watch these silly b@st@rds self-destruct.

[DallasDeb]

"The fact remains that drilling in the refuge would not produce a drop of oil for a decade, far beyond the time of the current crisis, and even then far too little to change the skewed foreign oil dependence equation," Lieberman told reporters.

LIEberman is such an a$$. Don't these idiots ever think of the future? This is why SS is such a mess. They are soooo short-sighted.

A coalition of Jewish groups, including the American Jewish Congress, on Tuesday urged the Senate to pass an energy bill that allows drilling in ANWR.

This is great. Wonder how many of our Jewish DemoncRAT senators are a part of these groups. Lieberman, evidently, is not--but then he was excommunicated by the Orthodox entity that does such things because of his PCness toward homosexuality and abortion.

[kcvl]

I wouldn't want to "harm" the carabou! ROFLOL!

Or, the bears, either!

I wonder how many oil wells Sen. Lieberman has drilled in the past in order to KNOW that there won't be a DROP of oil for years? I don't think that I'll take his word for it since he has been known to tell us a few lies.

[backhoe]

We not only need to drill ANWR, we need to drill in the Gulf of Mexico ( one of the world's largest oil reserves ), off both coasts, in the 48 continental states, and encourage our neighbors north and south to do the same.

We need to encourage the developement of modern, safe & efficient nuclear power, and encourage the use of clean coal technology- we have coal in abundance.

Most of all, we need to counter the lies and spin of the Greens, which is abetted by a compliant, obsequeous media.

Here's a Note to Activists:

Want to do something? Go here:

Ignorance Making You Ill? Cure It!

for links, tools, & instructions about how to contact a pile of different people, and how to send a link to this story right here ( or anywhere else ) to a "mass email" using Outlook Express.

[Cboldt]

Snowe and Collins are singing the same tune . . . "we should mandate better mileage -- drilling in a pristine place is bad."

Couple of peas in a pod, those two. "My" senators in name only I guess, because they sure don't represent my feelings, and they sure don't respond to my questions. I cite them to the GOP as THE reason the GOP will not see one penny of my money.

[colorado tanker]

Good question, our side isn't doing a very good job of getting the word out. My guess is that Enron has everyone so cowed no politician wants to speak out publicly for more oil production right now.

[null and void]

Don't feel so bad, "my" Senator wants to permanently ban pumping oil from EXISTING platforms off the California coast.

I saw gas at $2.69.9 last week (OK, so it was full serve premium, but still)...

[kcvl]

U.S. Geological Survey - 1980. In 1980, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated the Coastal Plain could contain up to 17 billion barrels of oil and 34 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

U.S. Department of Interior - 1987. After several years of surface geological investigations, aeromagnetic surveys, and two winter seismic surveys (in 1983-84 and 1984-85), the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI), in its April, 1987 report on the oil and gas potential of the Coastal Plain, estimated that there are billions of barrels of oil to be discovered in the area. DOI estimates that "in-place resources" range from 4.8 billion to 29.4 billion barrels of oil. Recoverable oil estimates ranges from 600 million barrels at the low end to 9.2 billion barrels at the high end. They also reported identifying 26 separate oil and gas prospects in the Coastal Plain that could each contain "super giant" fields (500 million barrels or more).

Only drilling will tell. The geologic indicators are very favorable for the presence of significant oil and gas resources in ANWR, but the limited data means that there is a high level of uncertainty about how much oil and gas may be present. Consequently, current estimates represent the best scientific guesses. However, most geologists agree that the potential is on the order of billions of barrels of recoverable oil and trillions of cubic feet of recoverable gas and that these resources may rival the initial reserves at Prudhoe Bay. The validity of these estimates can only be proved by drilling exploratory wells. Authorization for exploration can only be given by Congress and the President.

In 1996 the North Slope oil fields produced about 1.5 million barrels of oil per day, or approximately 25 percent of the U.S. domestic production. However, Prudhoe Bay, which accounts for over half of North Slope production, began its decline in 1988, and no new fields have yet been discovered with the potential to compensate for that decline.

[redhead]

"pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge."

Damn. This gets to me. They should make every last one of these whiny liberal "news" people take a 30-trip in ANWR. In July. Without DEET. Flatter than p*ss on a plate, barren as a sheet of plywood. Desolate. Ugly. FeatureLESS. Did I mention barren? "Pristine," my foot.

[Castlebar]

The biggest lie in American politics over the last two years was that Joe Lieberman was the "conscience" of the U.S. Senate. Lieberman is a slimy little weasel who would convert to Islam in a heartbeat if he thought it was the only way to stay in office. He became the "conscience" of the Senate by getting Don Imus to repeat that BS enough times on the DC morning commute radio hour.

[colorado tanker]

Whoa, that be a whole lotta awl. Let the drilling begin!

[kcvl]

TOP 10 REASONS TO SUPPORT DEVELOPMENT IN ANWR

1. Only 8% of ANWR Would Be Considered for Exploration
Only the 1.5 million acre or 8% on the northern coast of ANWR is being considered for development. The remaining 17.5 million acres or 92% of ANWR will remain permanently closed to any kind of development. If oil is discovered, less than 2000 acres of the over 1.5 million acres of the Coastal Plain would be affected.

2. Revenues to the State and Federal Treasury
Federal revenues would be enhanced by billions of dollars from bonus bids, lease rentals, royalties and taxes. Estimates in 1995 on bonus bids alone were $2.6 billion.

3. Jobs To Be Created
Between 250,000 and 735,000 jobs are estimated to be created by development of the Coastal Plain.

4. Economic Impact
Between 1980 and 1994, North Slope oil field development and production activity contributed over $50 billion to the nations economy, directly impacting each state in the union.

5. America's Best Chance for a Major Discovery
The Coastal Plain of ANWR is America's best possibility for the discovery of another giant "Prudhoe Bay-sized" oil and gas discovery in North America. U.S. Department of Interior estimates range from 9 to 16 billion barrels of recoverable oil.

6. North Slope Production in Decline
The North Slope oil fields currently provide the U.S. with nearly 25% of it's domestic production and since 1988 this production has been on the decline. Peak production was reached in 1980 of two million barrels a day, but has been declining to a current level of 1.4 million barrels a day.

7. Imported Oil too Costly
The U.S. imports over 55% of the nation's needed petroleum. These oil imports cost more than $55.1 billion a year (this figure does not include the military costs of protecting that imported supply). These figures are rising and could exceed 65% by the year 2005.

8. No Negative Impact on Animals
Oil and gas development and wildlife are successfully coexisting in Alaska's arctic. For example, the Central Arctic Caribou Herd (CACH) at Prudhoe Bay has grown from 3,000 to as high as 23,400 during the last 20 years of operation. In 1995, the Central Arctic Caribou Herd size was estimated to be 18,100 animals.

9. Arctic Technology Advanced
technology has greatly reduced the 'footprint" of arctic oil development. If Prudhoe Bay were built today, the footprint would be 1,526 acres, 64% smaller.

10. Alaskans Support
More than 75% of Alaskans favor exploration and production in ANWR. The Inupiat Eskimos who live in and near ANWR support onshore oil development on the Coastal Plain.

[NativeNewYorker]

File under "Proof not all Jews are smart".

[ChadGore]

http://users.wi.net/~johnh/drill.JPG