Senator Ted Stevens and the "drill-it-all" crowd have invented yet another scheme to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.  This time Senator Stevens is calling the Arctic Refuge a "Ready Reserve" and seeking to amend the Senate Energy bill (S. 1419) to authorize federally-funded seismic exploration and drilling on the 1.5 million acre Coastal Plain.  But make no mistake: it's the same old drill.

'It's not oil in a jar'

Before Stevens' sudden amendment strategy, when the idea of utilizing the Arctic Refuge as a reserve was mentioned this past spring, it created more questions than answers with Ken Boyd, a former Director of the Division of Oil & Gas in the Department of Natural Resources for the State of Alaska, and a leader in the "drill-it-all" crowd:

"ANWR is not an oil bank. We don't know what's there. [...]  The part of this idea that I don't like is, 'how do you do it?' You can't ask a capitalist company to spend the money to explore for and develop oil in ANWR and then just shut in the wells," Boyd said.
           
Not only would maintaining an oil reservoir in ANWR be "fantastically expensive" and extremely difficult for government agencies to do, it also would be highly impractical and dangerous, Boyd said.
           
"The oil would still be in the ground, in the rock as nature put it there 100 million years ago. It's not like the oil is in a jar," he observed.

-- Odds against ANWR reserve. Consultants: Making refuge part of U.S. emergency petroleum stockpile impractical. Petroleum News, February 25, 2007

America Deserves Better

With poll [pdf], after poll, after poll showing that Americans continue to oppose drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, this amendment to debate the tired thinking of the past will hold America back from the solutions America wants.  We need smarter energy solutions, such as making our cars more efficient and investing in clean renewable energy. It's time for drilling-fixated politicians to get in step with the American people.

Outlook

Debate on Steven's amendment is expected this afternoon and a vote could take place today.  We'll keep you updated on what happens; but, regardless of action on the Senate floor, the nation needs to hear from you.  It is time for new thinking, new proposals, and new energy for America. 

Fact Check

Drilling in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge wouldn't affect gas prices by more than a few pennies per gallon [pdf], twenty years from now when the Refuge would be at full production.

For more information contact Leslie Catherwood at 202-454-2524.