Free Republic

Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) issued a scathing rebuke Monday of President Joe Biden’s administration after it approved a scaled-down version of an oil drilling project in a petroleum-rich region of northern Alaska. Markey, a climate hawk and cosponsor of the failed Green New Deal, called the administration’s approval of ConocoPhillips’ Willow Project, a multibillion-dollar oil drilling endeavor in the federal North Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, a “disastrous decision.”

Why would Joe Biden irritate his Left to allow oil drilling in Alaska? Well consider this Never Trumper US Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and de-facto Biden ally has been a long-time friend of the energy industry. Her father Frank Murkowski ousted in 2006 as Governor of Alaska after Sarah Palin figured out how corrupt the Energy Commission Murkowski appointed her to was. Palin irritated the energy industry by wanting them to pay a fee to help pay for Alaska's state government. Murkowski Republicans had no such notions they kissed energy industry backside like business as usual politicians are supposed...

Key PointsThe Biden administration on Wednesday recommended a scaled-down version of a major oil drilling project in the North Slope of Alaska, taking a step toward approving the $8 billion Willow plan that climate groups have long condemned.The Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management released an environmental analysis that proposes lowering the number of drilling sites from five to three under the project, which is led by ConocoPhillips, Alaska's largest crude oil producer.The federal government has 30 days to issue a final decision on whether to approve the project. President Joe Biden’s administration on Wednesday recommended a scaled-down version of...

The decision to move ahead with the project by authorizing three drill sites in northwestern Alaska would come a day after Biden announced sweeping curbs on oil and gas leasing to protect up to 16 million acres of water and land in the region.

New Gov. Bill Walker took office Dec. 1 and ordered immediate changes in top echelons of state government. Walker brought back several top officials from Gov. Sarah Palin’s administration for senior positions in the natural resources and revenue departments. Walker defeated former Gov. Sean Parnell by about 6,200 votes in the Nov. 4 Alaska elections. Parnell first took office in July 2009 when Palin resigned before the end of her term. Out were several state commissioners and deputy commissioners including Joe Balash at the Department of Natural Resources, Susan Bell at Commerce and Economic Development, Bill Streur at the Department...

YOU have probably already heard about the pile of cash going to Alaska from the federal transportation bill. There's about a quarter of a billion dollars for a bridge to connect the airport on Gravina Island to Ketchikan (population 14,000). The bridge will rival the Golden Gate and Brooklyn Bridges in length and height. Then there's $230 million or so for "Don Young's Way," a bridge between Anchorage and a swampy, undeveloped port, which is named for the man who got us the money, Alaska's lone congressman. But it's the $15 million designated for a road between Juneau and Skagway...

WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) -- The Senate moved closer Wednesday to a floor vote on a proposal to store tens of thousands of tons of high-level radioactive waste in the Nevada desert. The Senate Energy and Commerce Committee voted 13 to 10 to override a veto by Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn, which if upheld, would strike down President Bush's recommendation to establish a permanent repository for spent nuclear fuel on Nevada's Yucca Mountain. Guinn is a Republican. Congress provided for the Nevada governor's veto in 1987 legislation that designated Yucca as the sole site for consideration. Read more about the nuclear waste...