I am amazed that the Bush administration, and the corporate conglomerates that support it, continue to push for drilling in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). A variety of ANWR bills have failed time and time again in the United States Congress. On Thursday, the House voted against an amendment to remove Arctic drilling from the House version of the energy bill and now it is in the Senate.
It is time that the administration finally realize that the people of this country really do not want one of the nation’s last pristine wild life sanctuaries to be destroyed, no matter what. An important thing to remember about the Artic drilling is, while oil companies say that they can “safely extract this oil” there are already hundreds of oil spills on the Alaskan North Slope every year.
Their primary reason for this drilling is to reduce our dependence on foreign oil is simply preposterous, the amount of oil in the refuge would last our over-consuming society about six months and wouldn’t make it to market for years.
I feel that it is important for citizens to voice their concerns to their Senators and Representatives to help ensure that oil conglomerates do not get their way on this one. Call, write or e-mail your Senator to tell them not to drill in the Arctic.
Ben Wessel
sophomore, sociology