Another Attempt at ANWR | Green Energy News

November 14, 2004 – Vol.9 No.34

ANOTHER ATTEMPT AT ANWR.

Newly elected President Bush has said he has some political capital to spend. How much will it cost him to get legislation passed that will allow oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)?

According to the Wilderness Society, the Bush Administration might attempt to bring drilling rigs to the pristine region through the back door when no one is looking. More accurately, legislation giving permission to drill might be included in a budget resolution expected to be voted on by the Republican-majority Senate in the spring of 2005.

The budget resolution (with ANWR buried in it) would only require a simple majority of votes; not the 60 votes that ANWR would normally require by itself or when included with other controversial measures on the floor of the Senate.

Bipartisan majorities have successfully defended ANWR twice in the past three years. But Republicans will hold a greater majority in the Senate beginning in 2005, so the Society is especially concerned.

The Wilderness Society, founded in 1935, is encouraging citizens to contact their Senators and ask them to vote against drilling in ANWR. The Society has set up a special web page for activists to voice their opinions and contact their Senators. It’s at http:www.wilderness.org/arctic