Mark Pearson (Herald, Nov. 18) has once again outdone himself with his recent hysteria on how Sen. Cory Gardner is about to sell his vote on drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Let’s hope that Sen. Gardner has the backbone to stand up to the environmental lobby and allow drilling in the 1002 area of the refuge.
Let’s get some facts straight. Gardner is not trying to “strip environmental protections from the refuge,” as Pearson states. His vote would allow possible exploration only of the 1002 area, which is 2000 acres of the total of 19,500,000 acres. Comparing the rape of the Amazon from gold miners (which is happening) to the highly regulated and monitored development of 2000 acres in Alaska is laughable.
The 1002 area is not included in the wilderness area of the refuge and has no wild river designations in it. There is already a pipeline that is just to the west of the 1002 area, the Trans Alaska Pipeline, that can transport the crude oil from new wells.
Remember how the pipeline was going to cause major disruptions of the caribou herds? Forty years later, and the caribou herd size has actually increased.
If it isn’t viable for companies to drill, they won’t, as they are they are free market enterprises with shareholders – many of these companies fund your pension plans and 401Ks. Unlike Pearson, they are accountable to make profits and care whether Americans can fuel their vehicles for less than $5 per gallon in the future.
Arthur Wyman
Durango
