Obama To Open Up 1.8 Million Alaskan Acres To Oil Drilling

[Tx4obama]

Source: AP (via HuffPo)

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- The Interior Department is offering oil and gas leases on 1.8 million acres of Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve while promising to protect critical migratory bird and caribou habitat.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says the Bureau of Land Management will offer 190 tracts with bids to be opened Aug. 11 in Anchorage. The sale is one of dozens, mostly in Western states, that Salazar announced in November.

The petroleum reserve covers 23 million acres on Alaska's North Slope. That's an area slightly smaller than the state of Indiana.

The BLM withdrew for consideration lands in a buffer zone around Teshekpuk (TESH'-eh-puk) Lake because of its importance to migratory birds.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/09/obama-to-open-up-18-milli_n_641559.html

[gateley]

1. It's not that I don't believe the 'promise' to protect the habitat, it's that I don't

trust the oil companies to give a shit. And, not sure if we'll be on top of it as we should be.

The faster we get off oil the better for the entire fucking planet. Except for Cheney. :evilgrin:

[saigon68]

29. More Change "We Can believe in"

Disgusting

[Hydra]

41. No more oil, indeed

We should never have used it in the first place. Soybeans and Hemp worked well enough at the time.

[defendandprotect]

102. Mountaintop Removal is another worry . . . back and forth -- and back again -- !!

[Cant trust em]

2. Maybe we really are just fucked.

Maybe all of my beliefs are just a fantasy land.

[Dennis Donovan]

3. Drill baby, drill...

:eyes:

[saigon68]

30. DRILL BABY DRILL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhvRQyRdVEI&feature=related

[Tx4obama]

4. It's better to have an oil accident on Alaskan land than here on our gulf!

Palin wanted more drilling in Alaska, so now she can deal with any future accidents up there ;)

[cornermouse]

23. NIMBY? ...Alaska IS part of your "backyard".

[Tx4obama]

26. You missed my point....

it is easier to clean up oil ON LAND (in an oil containment container) than it is IN WATER!
And NO Alaska is not part of my backyard.
The beach and beach house I visit in the summertime is in Galveston, Texas.
After all of Palin's "Drill, Baby, Drill" bullshit - I don't give a hoot anymore if they end up with a spill up there in Alaska or not! If they want to drill up there then let them - but they have lost their 'whining rights' when a spill happens!

[boppers]

53. Land isn't much different.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakeview_Gusher

Worst "spill" in history.

[GreenStormCloud]

93. Land is a LOT different.

For starters, you can get to the well. You don't need special equipment that can work under a mile of water.

The oil in a land blowout doesn't spread the way oil in the Gulf is spreading.

An oil disaster on land is still a disaster and not to be laughed at, but it doesn't compare to the size of an undersea blowout.

[wordpix]

95. oil speews on land get into freshwater wetlands, ponds, streams, rivers, lakes

it's no good.

Looks like this is a gift to the multinationals to hope they'll quiet down about losing out on their 33 deepwater wells in the Gulf. :puke:

[GreenStormCloud]

110. I didn't say a land blowout was safe.

Merely that a land blowout is nowhere nearly as bad as an underwater blowout. Even if the blowout is only in ten feet of water, that is a hell of a complication. Land blowouts are much easier to handle than any underwater blowout, and are capped much quicker.

[toopers]

111. Of course, the Lakeview Gusher . . .

occurred 100 years ago. I think technology has changed. As well, the total amount of oil released was round 18M gallons. The Gulf spill has released 4 to 5 times more.

[closeupready]

112. Lakeview Gusher released 9 million barrels, or 378 million gallons.

n/t

[Haole Girl]

103. Land & water are all interconnected. If more people would stop your kind of...

"thinking" maybe our planet would stop being treated like one big dumping ground.

It is ONE whole planet. Plant Earth.

Think.

[City Lights]

25. Our Gulf. Our Alaska.

Or did we sell off Alaska when I wasn't paying attention?

[cornermouse]

28. Apparently its okay to ruin the state of Alaska as long as the

other 49 states don't get messy. Go figure. (reply dripping with irony)

[clixtox]

40. It wasn't just you who wasn't "paying attention"...

When the USA slipped into de-facto fascism, almost nobody raised any fuss.

The sheeple, in their bamboozled fantasy state, even elected another minion of the petroleum industry as President!

Yup!

Obomba is a sycophant of big oil, and all of our other corporate masters.

He wouldn't have risen so far, or so quickly, if that wasn't the truth!

Think about it!

That actually wasn't change and hope the sheeple thought they heard expressed in 2008, it was chains and hopium that were promised, and delivered...

Of course there are differences between the Demonics and the Repugnants, otherwise they couldn't fool anyone!

[Yuugal]

61. +1

[Arctic Dave]

5. Seems appropriate, it is an NPR-A.

Much better then opening ANWR. Good call on the buffer zone around Teshekpuk Lake, this is a very important lake to the local population for subsistence hunting.

I wonder f this has anything to do with Jacob Adams taking the reins back as ASRC's CEO.

http://www.adn.com/2010/07/08/1358927/arctic-slope-changes-top-leadership.html

One of the state's biggest Native corporations announced Thursday that it has changed its top leadership. Barrow-based Arctic Slope Regional Corp. said its board voted Wednesday to bring back its former president, Jacob Adams, as chairman of the board. Adams served as Arctic Slope president for more for than 20 years, guiding the company's growth into the state's largest privately owned corporation. He retired three years ago.

The board elected Rex Rock as the company's new president, replacing Roberta "Bobbi" Quintavell, who had held the job since 2007. The change is effective immediately, according to company officials.

Until now, Rock had served as chairman of the Arctic Slope board, a position he held for many years.

[bobthedrummer]

76. a kick and a link to a relevant archived thread (despite it's title) for you Artic Dave

and everyone else that "gets it"

2 daughters of Alaska, Susan Lindauer and Sarah Palin: a real spooky politicized conspiracy thread (started 9-21-08)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x4052105

[Laelth]

6. Oh, goodie! A Friday news dump.

This is not what I wantted to hear.

:puke:

-Laelth

[Curmudgeoness]

7. Nooooooooooooooooo!

[PJPhreak]

8. K an U...

nothing against the Op'ster...At this time I cant support ANY new drilling,Anywhere.

[Fearless]

20. I don't think they were supporting it.

[PJPhreak]

27. My apologies if I sounded Snarky,

I guess I should have been a bit more clear...It's the Drilling that I can't support,I don't want the Oil Co's Fuckin up our planet any more than they already have.

Again,My Apologies. The net is a tough place to get my ideas across to folk sometimes,I'm much better in person.

[Catherina]

55. I recommend these because more people need to see it.

I don't support the drilling at all.

[stray cat]

9. I'm willing to bet most Alaskans agree with the move

Oil drilling means jobs - both related to and unrelated to oil. Would you rather feed your family or starve and protect the environment?

Do other states have the right to make Alaska decisions and forbid job growth?

[davidinalameda]

16. how about legalizing stealing

that would put food on people's tables too

murder for hire would pay pretty well too

heroin dealing is profitable as well

[Hissyspit]

17. Don't hurt yourself straining the rationalizations.

Also, those right-wing talking points are bad for your health (and our country's...). Yes, other states have rights when federal lands and federal issues are involved.

Drill baby drill.

[Curmudgeoness]

21. When will people get it.

It does not have to be an either/or situation. We should be able to feel our families AND protect the environment. This is just the kind of thinking that we hear all the time to rationalize pollution. Here in W PA, we lost all the steel mills, and a lot of the pollution that went with unrestricted emissions. And still we hear about how much better it was "then". Bah. Had to hose down the house every week.

[Altoid_Cyclist]

107. Now we just have to worry about the Marcellus Shale drilling.

It seems as though we haven't learned our lessons from the steel mill emissions or the coal mines that are still killing streams years after they closed.

Two pictures of the results of coal mining in western PA



More pictures and articles here. http://www.amrclearinghouse.org/Sub/photogallery/

I hope that you don't live in Hickory, PA or another Marcellus hot spot region. If you do, it looks as though you might have go back to the days of doing a lot of dusting.



Drilling begins on this farm near Hickory. Rock dust everywhere!
Did the drilling company happen to mention to you that you might need to dust .... hourly?

[Lorien]

37. Yeah, like those are the only two choices. GREEN tech ANYONE????

:eyes:

[Forkboy]

58. The RW should pay you for this post.

[Jayendra Sandeep]

62. I take it you agree with the Arizona immigrant law because most Arizonans like it

Am I correct?

[fascisthunter]

67. ah... mental gymnastics

[wordpix]

96. Thought most land there was in federal protected status so AKns have as much say as I (non-AK'n) do

:shrug:

[truthisfreedom]

10. Lesser of two evils.

He has to allow drilling somewhere.

[Lorien]

38. No he doesn't. Green tech is available and we're 30 years behind other Nations

who are using it. Peak oil is coming. The answer is NOT more drilling, it's starting the transition NOW to clean renewable energy! The technology DOES EXIST!

[primavera]

77. Hear, hear!

:applause:

[Bryn]

109. Yes! You're so right!

Dirty Oil is cheapest way to make nasty people filthy rich. They don't care for the environment and wildlife and people. They won't spend money for new kind of energy because it won't make *THEM* rich. At least what's what i think.

[DURHAM D]

11. Let me guess -

they will either just lease them the land (for not enough money) or fail to negotiate for a decent percentage (something other than the old 12.5%) of the production.

Even stupid old farmers and ranchers know they deserve more than 12.5%. Our government - not so much.

[Tx4obama]

42. Alaskan residents get a oil royalty check every year. They'll have a good contract. n/t

[Turbineguy]

12. One of the things that emerge from the Gulf disaster

is that saving money can get expensive.

BP did not drill the well to spill the oil. They drilled it badly to save money.

[indepat]

13. Breathtakingly something or the other considering the present ecological disaster will likely take

decades to significantly mitigate. Drill, baby, drill. :cry:

[no_hypocrisy]

14. Watch Palin take credit for this.

[mike_c]

15. terrible, terrible decision....

We NEVER learn, do we?

[Fearless]

18. Not the change I asked for... Not the campaign getting my money... n/t

[bluestateguy]

19. As long as it's not ANWR

then I support it if the people of Alaska support it.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

22. Obama needs to stop this!

[EmeraldCityGrl]

56. The ugly truth is, oil is profitable.

Green energy is in it's infancy and the American Empire is not interested in investing in this country's future or it's people.
Multi-nationals don't care about us and that's who's really running this country. We are on our own and had better come up
with some creative ideas on how we're going to take care of each other and our environment.

[bergie321]

24. What could possible go wrong?

Oh yeah

[Odin2005]

31. FUCK THAT BS!!!

:grr:

[DebbieCDC]

32. Yeah just more of that "change" we were sold in 2008

Fuckin' disgusting.

[gateley]

33. Why? nt

[timo]

34. gonna be a bitch

to find someone to volunteer to help wash of oil covered moose and bears!!

[depakid]

35. Along with tone deafness, this administration has grown every bit as cynical as Bush Co.

[Lorien]

36. W T F

:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke:

[midnight]

39. This does not seem appropriate.

[EmeraldCityGrl]

43. Obama to Open Up 1.8 Million Alaskan Acres to Oil Drilling

Source: Huffington Post

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- The Interior Department is offering oil and gas leases on 1.8 million acres of Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve while promising to protect critical migratory bird and caribou habitat.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says the Bureau of Land Management will offer 190 tracts with bids to be opened Aug. 11 in Anchorage. The sale is one of dozens, mostly in Western states, that Salazar announced in November.

The petroleum reserve covers 23 million acres on Alaska's North Slope. That's an area slightly smaller than the state of Indiana.

The BLM withdrew for consideration lands in a buffer zone around Teshekpuk (TESH'-eh-puk) Lake because of its importance to migratory birds.

Eric Myers of Audubon Alaska says the agency took a reasonable approach with its measures to protect birds and calving caribou.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/09/obama-to-open-up-18-milli_n_641559.html

---

This is deeply disappointing. Although, the Palins should be quite pleased.

[msongs]

44. barking dogs get attention lol nt

[niyad]

45. sighhhhhhhhhhhhh

[Catherina]

46. What happened to his 2008 vows to vastly improve Washington's ecological stewardship?

"We're very disappointed to see important areas like the Arctic coast and the Mid and South Atlantic stay open to oil drilling.

"What we need is bold, decisive steps towards clean energy, like the new clean cars regulations announced this week--not more dirty, expensive offshore drilling.

"The oil industry already has access to drilling on millions of acres of America's public lands and water. We don't need to hand over our last protected pristine coastal areas just so oil companies can break more profit records."

Michael Brune, Executive Director of the Sierra Club




"Is this President Obama's clean energy plan or Palin's drill baby drill campaign? While China and Germany are winning the clean energy race, this act furthers America's addiction to oil. Expanding offshore drilling in areas that have been protected for decades threatens our oceans and the coastal communities that depend on them with devastating oil spills, more pollution and climate change."

Phil Radford, Executive Director of Greenpeace


Candidate Obama in 2008

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8fkbEuCQss


"I strongly reject drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge because it would irreversibly damage a protected national wildlife refuge without creating sufficient oil supplies to meaningfully affect the global market price or have a discernible impact on US energy security."

Candidate Obama in 2008 http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1680173,00.html


Now I understand why then Senator Obama missed the 2007 Senate vote on drilling off the coast of Virginia http://www.votesmart.org/issue_keyvote_member.php?cs_id=13967

[niyad]

47. when he talked about clean coal, I knew we were in trouble environmentally

[Catherina]

48. I honestly didn't see this coming.

:banghead:

[niyad]

50. unfortunately, I did--maybe I am too much the cynic.

[Catherina]

52. The results have turned me into one

Looking back, I realize I was cynically exploited. A fool and her money were quickly parted for his election and how I live with images of all the death in the Gulf. How much more death do we need? There's another LBN thread today about General James Mattis saying "It's fun to kill in Afghanistan"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4459409

What have we come to?

[inna]

49. oy.

:crazy:


I think I'm reaching a breaking point here.


Who's drilling? BP, I presume? :sarcasm:

[Bluesbreaker]

51. Read the Rolling Stone Expose on this

From Tim Dickinson, the reporter who wrote The Spill, The Scandal and the President: How Obama let BP get away with murder, another solid piece of investigative reporting.

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/17390/120130

[Catherina]

54. When does this nightmare end?

From your article

BP's drilling in the Arctic is on track to get the green light as soon as this fall.

...

Ken Salazar, the Interior secretary whose staff allowed BP to drill in the Gulf based on pro-industry rules cooked up during the Bush years, has made no secret of his determination to push the "frontier" of oil drilling into the Arctic. The region's untapped waters are believed to hold as much as 27 billion barrels of oil — an amount that would rival some of the largest oil fields in the Middle East. "Everything I've heard internally, from sources within both the administration and industry, tells me that the administration is all over wanting these guys out in the Arctic Ocean," says Rick Steiner, a top marine scientist in Alaska who helped guide the response to the Exxon Valdez spill. "They're trying to solve this political problem with this Gulf spill in time to get these guys out in the Arctic next summer."

...

Here's what BP has in store for the Arctic: First, the company will drill two miles beneath its tiny island, which it has christened "Liberty." Then, in an ingenious twist, it will drill sideways for another six to eight miles, until it reaches an offshore reservoir estimated to hold 105 million barrels of oil. This would be the longest "extended reach" well ever attempted, and the effort has required BP to push drilling technology beyond its proven limits. As the most powerful "land-based" oil rig ever built, Liberty requires special pipe to withstand the 105,000 foot-pounds of torque — the equivalent of 50 Mack truck engines — needed to turn the drill. "This is about as sexy as it gets," a top BP official boasted to reporters in 2008. BP, a repeat felon subject to record fines for its willful safety violations, calls the project "one of its biggest challenges to date" — an engineering task made even more dangerous by plans to operate year-round in what the company itself admits is "some of the harshest weather on Earth."

...

The Obama administration has been warned by its own scientists that drilling in the Arctic poses a grave risk to the environment. Last September, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration urged the president to halt future leases in the Arctic, warning that federal regulators operating on Bush-era guidelines had "greatly understated" the risks of drilling. Both industry and government, the scientists added, displayed a "lack of preparedness for Arctic spill responses" and had failed to "fully evaluate the potential impacts of worst-case scenarios."

...

Experts also warn that a spill in the Arctic would be far worse than the disaster currently unfolding in the Gulf, where experienced contractors and relief equipment are close at hand. By contrast, the sites in the Arctic where Shell plans to drill are devilishly remote. The closest Coast Guard station is on Kodiak Island, some 1,000 miles away. The nearest cache of boom to help contain a spill is in Seattle — a distance of 2,000 miles. There are only two small airports in the region, and even if relief supplies could somehow be airlifted to the tundra, there are no industrial ports to offload equipment into the water. Relief equipment can realistically be brought to the region only by boat — and then only seasonally. The Arctic is encased in ice for more than half the year, and even icebreakers can't assure access in the dark of winter. "If it's this hard to clean this up in the relatively benign conditions of the Gulf of Mexico," Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse cautioned Salazar at a hearing after the BP spill, "good luck trying to implement this sort of a cleanup in the Arctic."

Shell, in fact, has never conducted an offshore-response drill in the Chukchi Sea. Perhaps that's because there's no proven technology for cleaning up oil in icy water, which can render skimming boats useless — much less to cope with a gusher under the ice. In the worst-case scenario, according to marine scientists, a blowout that takes place in the fall, when the seas are freezing over, could flow unabated until relief wells could be drilled the following summer. In the interim, oil could spread under the sea ice, marring the coastlines of Russia and Canada, and possibly reaching as far as Norway and Greenland. "It could realistically be a circumpolar event," says Steiner.

Such a disaster would threaten the Arctic's bountiful marine life, including polar bears, walruses, seals and migratory seabirds from every continent but Europe, to say nothing of gray whales and the endangered bowhead whale, on whose continued survival the native hunting communities along the Arctic coast depend. "It would wipe out the indigenous cultures and their subsistence lifestyle," says Clusen. And because the Arctic's frigid waters don't support the bounty of micro-organisms that scientists are counting on to help break down oil in the Gulf, a massive spill may prove almost impossible to clean up. "If you put a million barrels of oil in the Arctic Ocean," warns Steiner, "it would be there for decades."

...

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/17390/120130

[CountAllVotes]

57. Oh goody! Drill Baby Drill!

This is the kind of change I voted for!

:thumbsup: Obama!!! :sarcasm:

:argh: :grr: :mad: :puke: :argh:

No more votes for you either Obama. I'm thinking that you suck at this particular moment. :grr:

:kick:

[Karenina]

59. Actually it is AMERICAN CITIZENS WHO SUCK!!!

YOU, 6% of the world's population sucking up 24% of its resources, SUCK.

Sorry, you cannot blame this clusterfuck on Obama. WHAT NIMBYs! WHY does BP behave better in Scotland? CITIZEN OVERSIGHT.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLu-Hp9--RU

Watch this, THEN let's talk more...

[CountAllVotes]

63. and what lovely wonderful country are you in?

hell, I don't even drive much less do I own a gas guzzling SUV. I live in an energy efficient home and have the lowest power bill in the neighborhood. What about you wherever you are hiding in secret?

[Karenina]

65. This is NOT about you or me personally, it's about a prevailing mentality

that consumption can continue on the EXPONENTIAL curve that it has. And that Americans can continue to externalize that costs. There are enough bright minds in the land of my birth to solve the world's problems. There are also more than enough stupid people to prevent them from doing so. That's MY bit of Ami chauvinism. ;-)

Might I add, same shit goes down ALL OVER THE GLOBE. :shrug:

[CountAllVotes]

66. you say American citizens suck

I am an American citizen so I guess I suck?

Or is it really a "global phenomena"?

Seems to me it is a global problem not restricted to the USA.

I don't agree with much of what goes on here in this country nor the politics.

What I can do is take something called personal responsibility, which includes things like not driving, not consuming en mass, etc. I have in fact never been an avid consumer of crap regardless of the state of this nation.

I loathe people that seem to require three or four of everything regardless of how small their family may be. It is not necessary!

For some people, enough is never enough. This is not a unique characteristic in America, it too is global.

Please don't lump me into your "American citizens SUCK" category. Frankly, I resent it.

[wordpix]

98. go ED MARKY! Marky for PRESIDENT

:evilgrin: Change I can believe in :P:

[underpants]

60. Like most of the leases they will never drill there

:shrug:

[Oregone]

64. Raping the land for oil is fine as long as it happens in Alberta

Fortunately, the US has strict immigration standards for environmental pollutants. Out of sight, out of mind, protected by the borders

[fascisthunter]

68. this President is Beholden to COrporate Greed... he is not an answer to our problems

but part of the problem. Time to look for a viable candidate. If we fail, we keep trying until corporate America becomes exhausted.

[Desertrose]

69. This is just nuts.

Do we never learn anything??

[villager]

70. Obama To Open Up 1.8 Million Alaskan Acres To Oil Drilling

Source: AP

Obama To Open Up 1.8 Million Alaskan Acres To Oil Drilling

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- The Interior Department is offering oil and gas leases on 1.8 million acres of Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve while promising to protect critical migratory bird and caribou habitat.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says the Bureau of Land Management will offer 190 tracts with bids to be opened Aug. 11 in Anchorage. The sale is one of dozens, mostly in Western states, that Salazar announced in November.

The petroleum reserve covers 23 million acres on Alaska's North Slope. That's an area slightly smaller than the state of Indiana.

<snip>

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/09/obama-to-open-up-18-milli_n_641559.html

[BrklynLiberal]

71. damn damn damn

[HillbillyBob]

73. Ditto

Frankly im getting tired of signing petitions, making phone calls, writing lttes etc and they just go ahead with all these stupid ideas ...Im too tired to even jump up and down and fume.
Shock Doctrine any one?

[Oregone]

72. Raping the land for oil is fine as long as it happens in Alberta

Fortunately, the US has strict immigration standards for environmental pollutants. Out of sight, out of mind, protected by the borders


(Duped response to duped post. And no, I don't think drilling is the only option, here or there)

[bluestateguy]

74. Higher Permanent Fund checks for the locals

Let's see how grateful they are for that.

[jillan]

75. Why is Salazar still getting a paycheck from us? Robert Kennedy Jr should replace him.

THIS is what I want to see on the oceans

[Stoic]

105. I'm delighted we elected an environmentalist to protect the wilderness...

...oh, wait.

[Judi Lynn]

78. 1.8M acres of Alaska drilling leases go up for bid

Source: Associated Press/The Raw Story

1.8M acres of Alaska drilling leases go up for bid
By The Associated Press
Saturday, July 10th, 2010 -- 5:13 am

The Interior Department is offering oil and gas leases on 1.8 million acres of Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve while promising to protect critical migratory bird and caribou habitat. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Friday that the Bureau of Land Management will offer 190 tracts, covering more than 2,800 square miles, with bids to be opened Aug. 11 in Anchorage. The sale is one of dozens, mostly in Western states, that Salazar announced in November.

The petroleum reserve on the North Slope was originally created by President Warren Harding in 1923 and covers 23 million acres — an area slightly smaller than the state of Indiana. It currently has 310 authorized oil and gas leases totaling more than 3 million acres.

BLM has withdrawn for lease sale consideration lands in a buffer zone around Teshekpuk Lake, citing its importance to migratory birds. The area contains significant molting habitat for black brant, Canada geese and greater white-fronted geese.

The buffer zone also includes calving grounds for the Teshekpuk caribou herd, an important source of subsistence hunting for North Slope villages. In recent years, the herd has almost doubled in size — reaching about 70,000 animals.

Read more: http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0710/18m-acres-alaska-drilling-leases-bid/

[joeybee12]

79. So, do I unrec for shitty news, or rec to thank you for posting this?

[Judi Lynn]

81. Ha! I've wondered about that, too, seeming to rec. something goddawful! n/t

[joeybee12]

82. I guess I'll KNR then!!! n/t

[Fearless]

86. You rec something if you want it brought to others' attention.

But I know the feeling. :banghead:

[defendandprotect]

89. You judge the REC/UN based on whether you think others should be aware of the news ....

[cali]

80. How much of an oil consumer are you? (not the op specifically)

Is it OK to purchase oil from say, Venezuela where its extraction has also caused environmental degradation? Should we who object to any drilling at all here in the U.S., quit driving and heating our homes with oil? (For the record, I don't heat my house with oil and I co-own a car with a friend and rarely drive).

[wordpix]

99. good point BUT when there's no public transportation where you're going or it takes you

3 days on a train or bus to go 500 mi, your choices are slim. I live in a rural area and there is NO public transit out to my town. I have actually rented a car to go to the airport 1 hr. away b/c it was cheaper than leaving my car there for a week and there is no van pickup here. That's how bad it is.

[asjr]

83. So much for weaning outselves off of oil.

[defendandprotect]

90. We have to NATIONALIZE the oil industry -- Dem Platform in 1960 called for it -- !!

We will NEVER get any alternative to oil/gas - fossil fuels -- until we do so!

[villager]

91. The Dem platform in 1960 called for nationalizing the oil biz!?

Hmmm... casts further light, perhaps, on the eventual fate of the 1960 Dem nominee, when he was visiting an "oil state..."

[defendandprotect]

100. JFK ran on that platform -- plus was eliminating the oil depletion allowance ...

and until recently I've never though enough about the alliance between

the oil industry and MIC -- no oil/no wars!



And previously, FDR was considering nationalizing oil industry --

one of those whose opinion he asked was LBJ . . . guess what he said!

[flyarm]

84. drill Obama drill!! ...liars all!! eom

[saigon68]

108. `

[Beacool]

85. I read this article at Huff.

Let's see if it does as well here as it did there (2,000 plus comments, most of them critical).

It appears that there's been drilling for oil in the area since the 1920s, but not in this particular tract of land.

:-(

[olddad56]

87. Okay, now BP can drill for more Alaskan oil to sell to China.

[Arctic Dave]

88. IMO, Obama did the right thing with this decision.

Hear me out. This an actual petroleum designated land(I have numerous times rallied for doing legitimate exploration in this area before anywhere else on the North Slope, offshore included). The NPR-A is actually on the other side of Alaska, no where near ANWR.
They have been drilling and producing in the NPR-A for about eight years now with the Alpine Fields (ConocoPhillips).

He also made a good decision by making a buffer zone around the lake (side note: Alaska's largest lake).

[bobthedrummer]

92. knr + an archived thread that isn't off-topic (as you know Judi Lynn) despite it's subjectline

there are no coincidences.
2 daughters of Alaska, Susan Lindauer and Sarah Palin: a real spooky politicized conspiracy thread (started September 21, 2008)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x4052105

[Judi Lynn]

101. Thanks for finding this material and linking it. I never have seen it.

Gotta take more time to look through it, am very thankful you gave us a second chance to read it.

Alaska politics have been wildly strange since it appears there are only a very few people controlling so very much there, and it surely looks like all these Republicans are corrupt, and ugly.

Gotta get some time set aside a.s.a.p. to look at these links, thanks, so much.

[bobthedrummer]

106. Take care my friend.

:hi:

[Haole Girl]

94. Not the kind of headline I was hoping to see, especially this summer.

:-(

[wordpix]

97. Please tell me when Ken Salazar is getting FIRED for his continuous bending over to BigOil

[unkachuck]

104. shitting up the Gulf for a century....

....isn't good enough for this administration....we need to shit up some pristine wilderness too....

[harun]

113. Who gets the money for the leases?