Palin on signature energy issue: inaccurate & incomplete

Energy security is Governor Sarah Palin's signature issue, an opportunity for the public to evaluate her approach to governing, her concern for vulnerable people, and her handling of scientific evidence.

Palin's statements on CNBC's "Closing Bell" [8/29/08] about drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge are contradicted by research of the Congressional Research Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey Biological Science Report, and others. The discrepancies raise questions: what is her attitude toward scientific evidence? Is she unaware of the facts in her state and area of expertise?

Most of Gov. Palin's statements also appear on the Bush administration's Department of Interior website. The contradicting research of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service/Alaska has been marked "This is an Archived File" and a link that is labeled "The Department of the Interior supports opening the Arctic Refuge coastal plain to oil and gas development" takes the user to Interior's page, labeled as "Environmentally Responsible Energy Production in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)."
http://arctic.fws.gov/issues1.htm
http://www.doi.gov/initiatives/energy_new.html

(The Interior site also claims: "In 1980, President Carter and Congress set aside 1.5 million acres of ANWR's Northern Coastal Plain for potential oil development." But there was no Congressional decision on the use of this area other than to protect it from any activity not compatible with its purpose without further legislation by Congress. ANWR's purpose, according to the Congressional Research Service: "Under ANILCA [Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act] one of the purposes of ANWR is to 'conserve fish and wildlife populations and habitats in their natural diversity....' The other three purposes cite fish and wildlife treaty obligations, subsistence use, and maintenance of water quality and quantity.")

Absent from the CNBC interview is any mention of the indigenous Gwich'in Nation, who rely for subsistence and cultural identity upon the Porcupine caribou herd -- the spectacularly migrating herd that depends upon ANWR's Coastal Plain for calving, and that extensive scientific studies project to be negatively impacted by development. International law requires the United States to protect the cultures, subsistence, and ways of life of indigenous peoples; and the Gwich'in have appealed to and are supported by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. Similarly, there is no mention of the U S agreement with Canada "On the Conservation of the Porcupine Caribou Herd."
http://www.lexum.umontreal.ca/ca_us/en/cts.1987.31.en.html

Governor Palin's reliance on more oil as a key transition strategy raises a question: Does she grasp our severely lopsided resources/demand ratio in the world petroleum market, or the current levels of green technology and energy efficiency -- in short, the vision -- to help us transition swiftly from our dangerous dependency on oil? Fareed Zakaria has written, citing the Pentagon-tasked "Winning the Oil Endgame": "We don't need a Manhattan Project to find our way out of our current energy trap. The technologies already exist. But what we're searching for is perhaps even harder -- political leadership and vision."
http://fareedzakaria.com/ARTICLES/newsweek/082905.html

Following is the online transcript of the Bartiromo interview, interpolated with research findings that contradict or question Gov. Palin's statements. This interview was first run on CNBC's 'Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo" in preparation for "The Hunt for Black Gold" documentary. Video available at CNBC.com.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/26462569/site/14081545/

~~~~~~~


PALIN: "ABOUT 20% OF THE U.S. DOMESTIC SUPPLY IS -- OF ENERGY IS PRODUCED UP ON THE NORTH SLOPE. SO VERY, VERY SIGNIFICANT ECONOMICALLY.PHYSICALLY, THANKFULLY, TINY LITTLE FOOTPRINT."
[CNBC's "Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo"]

~~~

FACTCHECK.ORG - CITING THE ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION:

"Palin claims Alaska 'produces nearly 20 percent of the U.S. domestic supply of energy.' That's not true. Alaska did produce 14 percent of all the oil from U.S. wells last year, but that's a far cry from all the 'energy' produced in the U.S. Alaska's share of domestic energy production was 3.5 percent, according to the official figures kept by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. And if by 'supply' Palin meant all the energy consumed in the U.S., and not just produced here, then Alaska's production accounted for only 2.4 percent/"

http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/energetically_wrong.html
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/pet_crd_crpdn_adc_mbbl_a.htm
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/pet_sum_crdsnd_adc_mbbl_a.htm
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/states/sep_prod/P2/PDF/P2.pdf
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/states/hf.jsp?incfile=sep_sum/plain_html/sum_btu_tot.html


~~~~~~~

PALIN: "ANWR AT THAT POINT IT'S ABOUT 2,000 ACRES THAT IS BEING ASKED TO BE LOOKED AT AND TO BE EXPLORED AND TO BE PRODUCED. 2,000 ACRES OUT OF 20 MILLION ACRES. THAT FOOTPRINT, IT'S ABOUT THE SIZE OF L.A.X. OR ONE OF THE LARGER AIRPORTS ACROSS THE NATION. AND THAT SHOULD ALLOW SOME PERSPECTIVE THERE ALSO."
[CNBC's "Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo]

~~~

CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE:

"One single consolidated facility of 2,000 acres (3.1 square miles) would not permit full development of the 1002 area [Coastal Plain area]. Instead, full development of the 1002 area would require that facilities, even if limited to 2,000 acres in total surface area, be widely dispersed. Dispersal is necessary due to the limits of lateral (or extended reach) drilling: the current North Slope record for this technology is 4 miles. If that record were matched on all sides of a single pad, at most about 4% of the Coastal Plain could be developed from the single pad. Even if the current world record (7 miles) were matched, only about 11% of the 1002 area could be accessed from a single compact 2,000-acre facility."

.......

"The term footprint does not have a universally accepted definition, and therefore the types of structures falling under a "footprint restriction" are arguable (e.g., the inclusion of exploratory structures, roads, gravel mines, port facilities, etc.).12 In addition, it is unclear whether exploratory structures, or structures on Native lands, would be included under any provision limiting footprints.13"

Congressional Research Service, Order Code RL33872, "Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR): New Directions in the 110th Congress," February 8, 2007

http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/80677.pdf

~~~

U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE, ALASKA:

"The physical "footprint" of the existing North Slope oil facilities and roads covers about 10,000 acres, but the current industrial complex extends across an 800 square mile region, nearly 100 miles from east to west."

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Alaska, "Potential Impacts of Proposed Oil and Gas Development on the Arctic Refuge's Coastal Plain," 17 January 2001, updated 2/05

http://arctic.fws.gov/issues1.htm#section4

~~~

WILDERNESS SOCIETY:

"Industry's claim that the 'footprint' of oil production would amount to 2,000-acres is based on misleading math that only accounts for the area where oil production facilities actually touch the ground, and excludes gravel mines, roads, and pipelines (except their posts). By their math, the 'footprint' of your office desk is only the 4 square inches where its legs touch the ground."
....

"If the Arctic Refuge were opened to drilling, oil development would sprawl like a spider web across the entire 1.5 million-acre coastal plain--the biological heart of the refuge....."
Wilderness Society statement, quoted in Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, April 28, 2005

~~~

FORMER DIRECTOR, FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE:

"Modern petroleum exploration employs fleets of large vehicles that crisscross the frozen tundra, following a predetermined grid pattern. At frequent intervals, equipment on specially designed and extremely heavy vehicles is used to send shock waves through the ground so that monitoring devices can detect echoes that pinpoint underground oil and gas reserves. Noise from vehicles and seismic vibrations passing too closely can disturb denning polar bears, causing den abandonment and loss of cubs. Modern 3-D seismic exploration now uses grid lines that are often no more than 300 to 400 yards apart."

....

"During the assessment of oil and gas potential on the Refuge coastal plain..., about 1,400 miles of two dimensional (2D) seismic lines were surveyed (1983-85) to collect geophysical information used in the analysis. This work involved the use of bulldozer equipment moving worker camps, heavy seismic vibrators and related materials across the tundra during winter conditions when the ground is frozen and covered with snow. Due to the close proximity of the Brooks Range mountains to the Arctic Ocean in the Refuge, the coastal plain is primarily made up of rolling, hilly terrain which characteristically has uneven snow cover due to redistribution of snow by strong prevailing winds. Consequently, in areas having light snow cover the tundra vegetation was damaged by equipment, which created a variety of trails and visual impacts. Many of the damaged sites were such that significant recovery of vegetation has occurred and appear healed. At other locations, however, the damage persists, and in some cases has further eroded as water drains from sloped terrain in the scars. Damage at such places may last for many decades to come.

"Current state-of-the-art seismic surveys called three-dimensional (3D) require a high spatial density of survey lines (about 300-400 yard spacing). Such surveys create significantly more trails and tundra damage than the older 2D method, because of the increased number of lines, and the amount of vehicle turning that is required at the end of each line (turning of tracked vehicles tends to damage tundra vegetation more that straight travel). The NAS [National Academy of Sciences] report warns that if exploration intensifies in the foothills terrain (like the coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge) the likelihood for increased impact to vegetation, soil erosion and visual values will be significantly greater. In the Arctic Refuge such impacts would destroy the wilderness qualities of the coastal plain, and would diminish visual aesthetics of the plain as seen from higher elevations in the designated Wilderness area to the south."

Former Director, Fish & Wildlife Service, Testimony, Jamie Rappaport Clark,House Resources Committee, March 12, 2003
http://republicans.resourcescommittee.house.gov/archives/108/testimony/rappaportclark.htm


~~~~~~~

PALIN: "NO ONE BUT ALASKANS WILL CARE MORE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE PRESERVING THAT PRISTINE ENVIRONMENT THAT IS ANWR, THE COASTAL PLAIN, PRUTO [sic] BAY, ALASKA AS A WHOLE. AND WHEN YOU ASK ALASKANS DO YOU AGREE TO ALLOW DRILLING TO TAKE PLACE ON THE NORTH SLOPE, SPECIFICALLY HERE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ANWR, DO YOU WANT TO SEE THAT HAPPEN? AND WITH ALASKANS' LOVE AND CARE FOR OUR ENVIRONMENT AND OUR LANDS AND OUR WILDLIFE, ALASKANS ARE SAYING YES BECAUSE WE BELIEVE THAT IT CAN BE DONE SAFELY, PRUDENTLY, AND IT HAD BETTER BE DONE ETHICALLY ALSO. YES, WE WANT TO SEE THAT DRILLING. SO HOPEFULLY THE REST OF AMERICA CAN UNDERSTAND THAT ALSO. YOU GO DOOR TO DOOR AND ASK ALASKANS IF WE ARE READY AND WILLING TO PRODUCE MORE AND CONTRIBUTE MORE TO THE U.S. AND THEY'RE GOING TO TELL YOU YES."
[CNBC's "Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo"]


~~~

INTERNATIONAL INDIAN TREATY COUNCIL, TO U.N. COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS:

"...we call upon the United States Congress and the President to reverse this threat of cultural genocide by recognizing the rights of the Gwich'in people to continue to live their way of life by prohibiting development in the calving and post-calving grounds of the Porcupine Caribou Herd and to recognize the 1002 area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as wilderness area to achieve this end."
....

"It is our firm belief that development would have devastating lasting effects on the Gwich'in socially, culturally and spiritually."

Commission on Human Rights, Fifty-fifth session, 1999, Items 10 and 15 of the provisional agenda. Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Indigenous Issues. Written statement submitted by the International Indian Treaty Council, a non-governmental organization in special consultative status, on behalf of the Gwich'in Steering Committee:

http://www.unhchr.ch/Huridocda/Huridoca.nsf/0/cb3fb9823f87142780256740003a3f45?Opendocument

~~~

GWICH'IN STEERING COMMITTEE

"Old Crow, Canada, was the site of the July 14 - 18, 2008, biennial Gwich'in Gathering. The Gwich'in Nation reaffirmed the position originally taken in 1988 to oppose oil and gas development in the calving and nursery grounds of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge....

"We cannot destroy everything for six months of fuel. Right before our eyes, all avenues are being used to destroy what we have as our way of life.''

Native Currents - Gwich'in honor 20 years of resistance, © Indian Country Today August 15, 2008. All Rights Reserved. Posted: August 15, 2008, by: Luci Beach / Gwich-in Steering Committee

http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096417961

~~~

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GWICH'IN STEERING COMMITTE.

"And please do not forget that this is a place that we as Gwich'in consider The Sacred Place Where Life Begins - no less sacred to Gwich'in than Mt. Fuji to Japanese or Na Wahi Pana where Aloha 'Aina would be expected for Hawaiians."

Luci Beach, Gwichyaa Gwich'in and Vuntut Gwich'in, from Ft. Yukon, is executive director of the Gwich'in Steering Committee. April 21, 2005

http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096410788

~~~

DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW CLINIC AT AMERICAN UNIVERSITY, THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH, GWICH'IN STEERING COMMITTEE:

"International law requires the United States to protect indigenous people's cultures, subsistence, and ways of life as fundamental aspects of human rights. Where these rights are dependent on maintaining a healthy environment, as they are for the Gwich'in [indigenous people], governments are obliged to protect the environment. The proposal being considered by the US Congress to open the 1002 area of the Coastal Plain to oil drilling would violate that obligation, by putting the Porcupine Caribou Herd -- and the Gwich'in nation that depends on it -- at risk."

Gwich'in Steering Committee; The Episcopal Church; & Richard Wilson, Professor of Law and Director of the International Human Rights Law Clinic at American University. "A Moral Choice for the United States: The Human Rights Implications for the Gwich'in of Drilling the the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge," 2005.

(find by googling: A Moral Choice for the United States

~~~

GWICH'IN STEERING COMMITTEE, THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH, DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW CLINIC AT AMERICAN UNIVERSITY

"The Gwich'in live in 15 villages in northeastern

Alaska and northwestern Canada: in Alaska,

these are Arctic Village, Venetie, Chalkyitsik,

Stevens Village, Birch Creek, Circle, Beaver,

Canyon, Eagle, and Fort Yukon; in Canada, they

are Fort McPherson, Inuvik, Aklavik,

Tsiigehtchic (Arctic Red River), and Old Crow.10

The Gwich'in presently number 7,000 to 9,000

people.11

"Western anthropological evidence

suggests that the Gwich'in have occupied their

ancestral lands and harvested caribou for more

than 20,000 years; the Gwich'in believe it has

been this way since time immemorial.12....

"In the words of Gwich'in elder Jonathon

Solomon of Fort Yukon, Alaska, 'It is our belief

that the future of the Gwich'in and the future of

the Caribou are the same.'31 Harm to the

Porcupine Caribou Herd is harm to the

Gwich'in culture and millennia-old way of life.....

"The 1002 area targeted for oil exploration and

development is irreplaceable calving and postcalving

habitat for the Porcupine Caribou

Herd. Drilling in the area would leave the

herd without adequate habitat, almost certainly

leading to the long-term decline of the herd."

Gwich'in Steering Committee; The Episcopal Church; & Richard Wilson, Professor of Law and Director of the International Human Rights Law Clinic at American University. "A Moral Choice for the United States: The Human Rights Implications for the Gwich'in of Drilling the the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge," 2005.

(find by googling: A Moral Choice for the United States

~~~

THE "AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ON THE CONSERVATION OF THE PORCUPINE CARIBOU HERD"

may be found at:
http://www.lexum.umontreal.ca/ca_us/en/cts.1987.31.en.html

~~~

GWICH'IN STEERING COMMITTEE

"The most fictitious statement made is that only one tribe is opposed to development in the Refuge. This is completely wrong.

"First, there are numerous federal tribes in the U.S. and many First Nations in Canada opposed to oil development in the Arctic Refuge's coastal plain. The Gwich'in have the longstanding support of those opposed to oil and gas development from the Tanana Chiefs Conference, which represents 37 federally-recognized tribes in the interior of Alaska, including the Gwich'in. We also have support from the Alaska Inter-Tribal Council, which advocates on behalf of 187 tribal governments.

"There are various individual resolutions from Alaska Native tribes and communities throughout the state. The senators failed to mention that a petition from Kaktovik [Inupiat village on the plain, pop. 188 adults] has the signatures of 57 people and there is a resolution opposed to drilling in the Arctic Refuge and offshore in the Arctic Ocean from the traditional whaling community of Point Hope. Furthermore, outside of Alaska we have the support of numerous tribes.

"This broad opposition to drilling comes from the cultural significance of the lands as well as the ethic of the sanctity of birthplace - a basic principle of many tribes. Furthermore, this is where the distinction has to be made between Alaska Native corporations and tribes."

Executive Director of the Gwich'in Steering Committee, Luci Beach, Gwichyaa Gwich'in and Vuntut Gwich'in, from Ft. Yukon, April 21, 2005.

http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096410788

~~~

A MESSAGE FROM THE HOUSE OF BISHOPS OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH, USA, TO THE UNITED STATES SENATE:

"To risk the destruction of an untouched wilderness and an ancient culture violates our theological mandate to be caretakers of creation." March 14, 2005.
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_59990_ENG_HTM.htm

(background at:
http://www.savearcticrefuge.org/sections/news/bishop.html

~~~~~~~

PALIN: "I THINK THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF MISCONCEPTIONS AND MISPERCEPTIONS ABOUT WHAT ANWR IS ALL ABOUT AND UP ON THE NORTH SLOPE WHAT THE ENVIRONMENT ACTUALLY IS UP THERE. YOU SEE PICTURES, YOU SEE VISUALS FROM THE NAYSAYERS, THE CRITICS OF THE IDEA OF OPENING ANWR, AND THE PICTURES THAT THEY'RE SHOWING ARE MOUNTAINS AND -- POLAR BEARS.... LOTS OF DIFFERENT WILDLIFE. THEY'LL SHOW MOOSE IN A STREAM WITH MOUNTAINS IN THE BACKGROUND.THAT'S NOT ANWR. AND AS YOUR PEOPLE GO UP THERE ALSO AND ACTUALLY GET TO SEE FOR THEMSELVES -- AND WE'VE HAD A LOT OF CONGRESSMEN AND CONGRESSWOMEN COME UP HERE THIS SUMMER EVEN TO SEE FOR THEMSELVES WHAT ACTUALLY IS ANWR, WHAT WOULD BE TOUCHED HERE IN TERMS OF LANDS AND WILDLIFE, THEN THEY SEE THAT THOSE VISUALS THAT HAVE BEEN SHOWED [sic] AMERICA FOR ALL THESE YEARS ARE INACCURATE.THOSE ARE NOT THE PICTURES OF ANWR. THERE AREN'T MOUNTAINS UP THERE,FOR INSTANCE.SO I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF MISPERCEPTION OUT THERE ABOUT WHAT THE PLAIN ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE.AND THE VISUALS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO AMERICANS."
[CNBC's "Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo"]


~~~

WILDLIFE BIOLOGIST, RETIRED FROM STAFF OF ANWR:

"We begin...at the northernmost point of the refuge, the shore of the Arctic Ocean. Looking south, flat land rises gradually up to high rugged mountains on the southern horizon ranging from five to thirty-five miles distant....Because the mountains are near to the Arctic Ocean in the refuge, the north-flowing rivers have a steeper gradient than those west of the refuge, where the distance from mountains to coast is much greater and the land is flatter. Thus there is more variable terrain in the Arctic Refuge coastal plain, especially where the swift-flowing rivers have cut through hills, leaving banks and bluffs....The steeper slope of the refuge coastal plain and foothills enables water to drain more swiftly, leaving relatively few lakes and ponds and primarily upland tundra vegetation."

Fran Mauer, ANWR Wildlife Biologist, retired, in "Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Seasons of Life and Land," by Subhankar Banerjee

~~~

PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE COASTAL PLAIN IN THE CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES EXHIBIT "THE ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE: SEASONS OF LIFE AND LAND":

http://www.calacademy.org/exhibits/anwr/anwr_photo8.html
http://www.calacademy.org/exhibits/anwr/anwr_photo10.html
http://www.calacademy.org/exhibits/anwr/anwr_photo1.html
http://www.calacademy.org/exhibits/anwr/anwr_photo5.html
http://www.calacademy.org/exhibits/anwr/anwr_photo4.html
http://www.calacademy.org/exhibits/anwr/anwr_photo3.html


~~~

CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE

"The FLEIS [Final Legislative Environmental Impact Statement] rated the Refuge's biological resources highly: ....'The 1002 area is the most biologically productive part of the Arctic Refuge for wildlife and is the center of wildlife activity' (p. 46). The biological value of the 1002 area rests on intense productivity in the short arctic summer; many species arrive or awake from dormancy to take advantage of this richness, and leave or become dormant during the remainder of the year."

Congressional Research Service, Order Code RL33872, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR): New Directions in the 110th Congress, February 8, 2007.
http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/80677.pdf

~~~

U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE, ALASKA

"The 1002 Area is critically important to the ecological integrity of the whole Arctic Refuge, providing essential habitats for numerous internationally important species such as the Porcupine Caribou herd and polar bears. The compactness and proximity of a number of arctic and subarctic ecological zones in the Arctic Refuge provides for greater plant and animal diversity than in any other similar sized land area on Alaska's North Slope."

US Fish & Wildlife Service, Alaska, "Potential Impacts of Proposed Oil and Gas Development on the Arctic Refuge's Coastal Plain: Historical Overview and Issues of Concern," 2001, update 2006.

http://arctic.fws.gov/issues1.htm

~~~

U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE, ALASKA

"The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is the largest unit in the National Wildlife Refuge System. The Refuge is America's finest example of an intact, naturally functioning community of arctic/subarctic ecosystems. Such a broad spectrum of diverse habitats occurring within a single protected unit is unparalleled in North America, and perhaps in the entire circumpolar north.

"When the Eisenhower Administration established the original Arctic Range in 1960, Secretary of Interior Seaton described it as:

" 'one of the world's great wildlife areas. The great diversity of vegetation and topography in this compact area, together with its relatively undisturbed condition, led to its selection as ... one of our remaining wildlife and wilderness frontiers.' "

US Fish & Wildlife Service, Alaska, "Potential Impacts of Proposed Oil and Gas Development on the Arctic Refuge's Coastal Plain: Historical Overview and Issues of Concern," 2001, update 2006.

http://arctic.fws.gov/issues1.htm


~~~~~~~

PALIN: "MORE AND MORE AMERICANS ARE RECOGNIZING IT IS TIME TO RAMP UP AMERICAN SUPPLY OF ENERGY, ESPECIALLY WE'RE A NATION AT WAR, A LOT OF THE ISSUES THAT ARE SO ADVERSELY AFFECTING AMERICA ARE BASED ON ENERGY SUPPLIES AS WE'RE RELYING ON FOREIGN SOURCES OF ENERGY TO FEED OUR HUNGRY MARKETS....ALASKA HAS THESE SUPPLIES....STILL SITTING UNDERGROUND, IN A SENSE BEING WAREHOUSED.IT'S TIME TO UNLOCK THESE RESERVES ...AND START FLOWING THAT ENERGY INTO THE DOMESTIC MARKETS THAT ARE SO HUNGRY SO THAT WE CAN BECOME LESS RELIANT ON FOREIGN SOURCES OF ENERGY. AS MORE AMERICANS RECOGNIZE THAT, MORE AMERICANS, I BELIEVE,ARE CHOOSING TO EDUCATE THEMSELVES ON WHAT ANWAR [sic] IS REALLY ALL ABOUT."

BARIROMO: "FOR SURE. AND I GUESS THIS YEAR THERE WAS A PRICE AND ONCE THERE WAS A PRICE THAT WAS ACTUALLY REACHED IT WAS -- PEOPLE GOT IT."

PALIN: "YEAH. I BELIEVE SO TOO."
[CNBC's "Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo"]

~~~

ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION

"With respect to the world oil price impact, projected ANWR oil production constitutes between 0.4 and 1.2 percent of total world oil consumption in 2030, based on the low and high resource cases, respectively.1 Consequently, ANWR oil production is not projected to have a large impact on world oil prices. Relative to the AEO2008 reference case, ANWR oil production is projected to have its largest oil price reduction impacts as follows: a reduction in low-sulfur, light (LSL) crude oil2 prices of $0.41 per barrel (2006 dollars) in 2026 in the low oil resource case, $0.75 per barrel in 2025 in the mean oil resource case, and $1.44 per barrel in 2027 in the high oil resource case. Assuming that world oil markets continue to work as they do today, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) could neutralize any potential price impact of ANWR oil production by reducing its oil exports

Analysis of Crude Oil Production in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, May 2008, Energy Information Administration.
http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/servicerpt/anwr/pdf/sroiaf(2008)03.pdf

~~~

RESEARCH ASSOCIATES, ESTER, ALASKA:

"During the decade between 2021 and 2030, Arctic Refuge production

would reduce prices at the gas pump by approximately $0.032 (3.2

cents) per gallon. At peak, the gas pump reduction would be less than

$0.04 (four cents) per gallon, based on a $0.78 per barrel reduction in

the price of crude oil (all figures in 2008 dollars)."

"Existing Conservation and Alternative Technology Gains Far Outweigh Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Potential: Oil Imports Have Declined Significantly Since 2005." A Report to the Alaska Wilderness League By Richard A. Fineberg, Principal Investigator, Research Associates, Ester, Alaska 99725, June 4, 2008.
http://www.alaskawild.org/wp-content/files/Press_Releases/Fineberg_Report_6-4-08.pdf


~~~~~~~~

PALIN: "LET'S LOOK AT LESSONS LEARNED OVER THE LAST 30 YEARS WHEN THE TRANSALASKA OIL PIPELINE WAS FINALLY ALLOWED TO BE BUILT AND THERE WERE...THE FEARS THAT THE CARIBOU HERDS WOULD DIMINISH AND DIE OFF. NO, THE CARIBOU HERDS ARE ACTUALLY THRIVING. THEY'RE FLOURISHING. THERE HAVE NOT BEEN THE ADVERSE IMPACTS ON THE CARIBOU HERDS. SO WE ANTICIPATE THE SAME THING AS WE TAP MORE ENERGY SUPPLIES UP ON THE NORTH SLOPE IN ANWR AND AS WE BUILD A NATURAL GAS PIPELINE ALSO THAT'S UNDER WAY AT THIS POINT. ....AND BY THE WAY, BIDEN, JOE BIDEN WAS ONE WHO VOTED AGAINST THAT TRANSALASKA OIL PIPELINE 30 YEARS AGO. HE WAS FEARFUL OF ALLOWING RAMPED UP DOMESTIC SUPPLIES OF FOREIGN ENERGY EVEN THEN. SO OF COURSE I FEAR THAT IF HE'S OF THE SAME MIND TODAY WE'RE IN A WORLD OF HURT THERE. NO. THE ENVIRONMENT WILL CONTINUE TO BE PROTECTED. OUR WILDLIFE WILL CONTINUE TO THRIVE AND TO PROSPER UP THERE. AND WE'RE GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE STRINGENT AND SAFE OVERSIGHT THAT IS NECESSARY AND THAT WILL ALLOW THE POPULATION OF THIS WILDLIFE AND THE PRISTINENESS OF THE AREA TO CONTINUE."
[CNBC's "Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo"]

~~~

FORMER DIRECTOR, FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE:

"The likelihood of coastal plain development having adverse effects on the Porcupine herd is often discounted by oil drilling proponents through comparisons with other areas where development is already taking place and caribou numbers have increased. However, conditions on the Arctic Refuge coastal plain differ from currently developed areas on State of Alaska lands west of the Refuge, making comparisons of the two largely inappropriate.

"The coastal plain around the oil fields is more than 100 miles wide. It is used by relatively few caribou. Oil development that has been underway for many years has resulted in the displacement of Central Arctic caribou to other nearby habitat. In contrast, the narrow Arctic Refuge coastal plain is densely occupied by caribou and is bracketed by sea on one side and mountains on the other. Porcupine herd caribou displaced by oil development would not find other comparable habitat readily available.

"The Arctic Refuge environmental assessment written in 1987 concluded that oil development would have a "major" impact on the Porcupine caribou herd, defined as "widespread, long-term change in habitat availability or quality which would likely modify natural abundance or distribution" of the species. While the technology has improved, there is little question that the disturbance caused by the presence of drilling pads, pipelines, and facilities would displace the Porcupine caribou herd from their preferred calving habitat on the coastal plain, just as it has with the Central Arctic herd near the Prudhoe Bay oilfields. Furthermore, recent findings by DOI researchers published in 2002, documented that entire areas of calving concentration have shifted away from oilfield developments during the past 15 years. Findings of the National Academy of Science released last week [2003] show that during 1988 to 2001, Central Arctic herd cows that were displaced by oilfield developments had significantly lower reproductive success than in areas where they were not disturbed.

"The survival rate of Porcupine herd calves has averaged 14 percent lower in years when late snowmelt has displaced calving from the coastal plain to areas with poorer forage and more predators. A reduction of long-term calf production and survival of as little as five percent would be sufficient to prevent population growth in the Porcupine caribou herd. If the average survival rate falls by more than five percent--a distinct possibility if oil development occurs--the herd would be unable to recover from natural declines. The Porcupine herd has shown the lowest growth capacity of the arctic herds in Alaska, and therefore is the least resilient to the impacts of development."

Former Director, Fish & Wildlife Service, Testimony, Jamie Rappaport Clark, House Resources Committee, March 12, 2003.
http://republicans.resourcescommittee.house.gov/archives/108/testimony/rappaportclark.htm


~~~~

U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE, ALASKA

"There are fundamental differences between the calving areas of the Central Arctic and the Porcupine herds. In the case of the Central Arctic herd, there is a greater amount of alternative calving area available for displaced cows to move to because the mountains are much farther from the ocean. The 1002 Area is only one-fifth the size of the area used by the Central Arctic caribou herd, but six times as many caribou use the 1002 Area. In the Arctic Refuge, where the mountains are close to the coast, few alternative areas would be available for displaced cows. If the 1002 Area was developed, the associated pipelines, roads, and structures would potentially impact the Porcupine Caribou herd by:

* reducing the amount and quality of preferred forage available during and after calving,

* restricting access to important coastal insect-relief habitats,

* exposing the herd to higher predation, and

* altering an ancient migratory pattern, the effects of which we can not predict.

"A reduction in annual calf survival of as little as 5% would be sufficient to cause a decline in the Porcupine caribou population."

US Fish & Wildlife Service, Alaska, "Arctic National Wildlife Refuge." Updated February 2005
http://arctic.fws.gov/issues1.htm
~~~

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE REPORT:

"In summary, 4 research-based ecological arguments indicate that the Porcupine caribou herd may be particularly sensitive to development within the 1002 portion of the calving ground:

"Low productivity of the Porcupine caribou herd ....

"Demonstrated shift of concentrated calving areas of the Central Arctic caribou herd away from petroleum development infrastructures ....

"Lack of high-quality alternate calving habitat....

"Strong link between calf survival and free movement of females"

"Arctic Refuge Coastal Plain: Terrestrial Wildlife Research Summaries, U.S. Department of Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Science Report USGS/BRD/BSR-2002-0001. Edited by D. C. Douglas, U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, Alaska; P. E. Reynolds, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Fairbanks, Alaska; E. B. Rhode, Expression, Anchorage, Alaska.

http://www.absc.usgs.gov/1002/section3part5.htm#Conclusions


~~~~~~~

PALIN: "WE NEED TO DRILL, DRILL, DRILL OTHERWISE, I CANNOT BELIEVE A DOMESTIC SOLUTION IS ANY PART OF A NATIONAL ENERGY POLICY IF THEY'RE NOT GOING TO LET ALASKANS DRILL ON OUR OWN LANDS AND ON FEDERAL LANDS WITHIN OUR OWN STATE."
[CNBC's "Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo"]


~~~

PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER:

" 'We left 95 percent of the areas with potential petroleum reserves in Alaska open to exploration and outside the boundaries of the protected areas,' [President] Carter said yesterday. 'My only disappointment was that we did not firmly act to designate the coastal plain as wilderness.'

" 'We don't need it,' he added. 'Its contribution would be tiny, six months of the country's petroleum needs. It would destroy the wilderness up there and one of the continent's last great predator-prey ecosystems.' "

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, Saturday, February 3, 2001.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/anwr03.shtml


~~~~~~~

PALIN: " AND IF A DOMESTIC SOLUTION ISN'T PART OF A NATIONAL ENERGY PLAN, THEN OUR NATION IS IN A WORLD OF HURT, WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO BE RELIANT ON FOREIGN DANGEROUS REGIMES TO FEED OUR HUNGRY MARKETS." [CNBC's "Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo"]


~~~

"DON'T TRADE ONE SECURITY PROBLEM FOR ANOTHER"

"...over half of the 800-mile Trans-Alaskan Pipeline System (TAPS) is elevated and accessible. This rapidly aging pipeline [is],,,arguably the most brittle part of the entire U.S. energy infrastructure. Oil from beneath the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge... would prolong dependence on TAPS for decades....Yet TAPS is even easier to disrupt and harder to mend than that famous Persian Gulf chokepoint. TAPS has already been sabotaged, shot at over 50 times (punctured once), and incompetently bombed twice (penetrated once)....A longer hiatus [than the license requirement of an unspecified "short" time after an interruption of oilflow at 40 degrees F.], or in winter, could turn nine million barrels of gooey oil into the world's largest Chap Stick." [p.16]

"Energy Security Facts: Details and Documentation," Rocky Mountain Institute, 2003.

Find by googling: Energy Security Facts: Details and Documentation


~~~~~~~~

PALIN: "...I THINK OUR NATION IS AT A CROSS-ROADS ALSO....OUR NATION'S GOING TO BE IN A WORLD OF HURT WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT NATIONAL SECURITY, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT EVER REACHING POTENTIAL TOWARD ENERGY INDEPENDENCE, IF WE CANNOT IMPLEMENT A DOMESTIC SOLUTION FOR THIS NATIONAL ENERGY POLICY....ALASKA SHOULD BE A LEADER IN THIS PLAN BECAUSE WE HAVE THE CONVENTIONAL, THE NON-RENEWABLE SUPPLIES, THE PETROLEUM....WE ALSO HAVE THE RENEWABLES....WE HAVE THE LARGEST TIDES ON THE CONTINENT, WE HAVE THE GEOTHERMAL, WE HAVE THE WINDS.WE HAVE ALL THESE ALTERNATIVE RENEWABLE SOURCE THAT'S ALSO CAN BE TAPPED INTO AS WE WORK COLLECTIVELY AND COMPREHENSIVELY ON AN ENERGY PLAN. WE NEED TO BE DOING EVERYTHING, AND PEOPLE NEED TO BE REALISTIC ALSO. AND THIS IS ALSO WHAT KIND OF SCARES ME ABOUT BIDEN AND OBAMA ALSO, IS IT SEEMS TO BE ALMOST A NAIVE NOTION OF THEIRS THAT WE CAN AUTOMATICALLY JUST JUMP RIGHT INTO A RENEWABLE SUPPLY OF ENERGY TO FEED HUNGRY MARKETS ACROSS OUR NATION WHEN THESE RENEWABLES ARE NOT YET PROVEN TO BE ECONOMIC NOR RELIABLE. WE'RE GOING TO BE IN A TRANSITION PERIOD FOR QUITE SOME TIME WHERE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO CONTINUE TO BE RELIANT ON CONVENTIONAL SOURCES OF ENERGY AS WE'RE WORKING ON THE RENEWABLES...IT'S NAIVE TO THINK WE CAN GO RIGHT TO RENEWABLES AND THINK THAT'S EVER GOING TO WORK FOR OUR NATION TODAY AT THIS TIME."
[CNBC's "Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo"]


~~~

AMORY LOVINS, LEAD AUTHOR OF "WINNING THE OIL ENDGAME," TASKED BY THE PENTAGON:

"With cheap oil-saving technologies and alternative fuels already at our disposal, the sooner we get off oil, the sooner we'll start making bigger profits. That's right -- profits. The conventional wisdom is that $50-a-barrel oil has made alternatives to fossil fuels economically viable. But the truth is that they were viable back when oil was $25 a barrel. The arguments in favor of phasing out oil have now merely become overwhelming." ....

"It's entirely possible to cut projected U.S. oil consumption in half by 2025, and eliminate it completely by 2050, without compromising rapid economic growth."....

"Mandates, subsidies and taxes aren't needed to implement these changes. What's needed are smart business strategies and enlightened government policies that remove barriers to adopting new technology."

"How to Live Without Oil: New energy sources and efficiency could make petroleum obsolete," Newsweek International, Aug. 8, 2005.

now available at
http://www.energybulletin.net/node/7753

~~~

NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR TO PRESIDENT REAGAN:

"[T]he means of achieving near-term energy security and ultimate independence from foreign oil are at hand. Courage and leadership are all that it takes to get us there."

Robert McFarlane, National Security Advisor to President Reagan, about the Pentagon-tasked report "Winning the Oil Endgame"
http://oilendgame.com/CommentsAndReviews.html

~~~

FAREED ZAKARIA, COLUMNIST, CITING "WINNING THE OIL ENDGAME" AND OTHERS

"We don't need a Manhattan Project to find our way out of our current energy trap. The technologies already exist. But what we're searching for is perhaps even harder -- political leadership and vision."

Newsweek, Aug. 29 - Sept. 5, 2005 issue, Fareed Zakaria, columnist, "How to Escape the Oil Trap."
http://fareedzakaria.com/ARTICLES/newsweek/082905.html

~~~

INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY:

" ' Petrol, is like a girlfriend, you know since the beginning of your relation that she will leave you one day, summarizes Mr Birol. For her not to break your heart, it is better to leave her before she leaves you.' Also he sends a double message to the consumer countries, much firmer than in the annual report Published in autumn, 2004: 'save energy, save petrol! And diversify, please. Get out of petrol! ' "

Fatih Birol, director of economic studies, International Energy Agency, September 2005.
http://www.globalpublicmedia.com/articles/513

~~~

AMORY LOVINS VIDEOS (LEAD AUTHOR OF "WINNING THE OIL ENDGAME" ON CHARLIE ROSE:
http://www.charlierose.com/shows/2008/07/15/2/a-conversation-with-amory-lovins

"WINNING THE OIL ENDGAME" MAY BE DOWNLOADED AT:
http://www.oilendgame.com/

~~~

PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER:

"If we are not wise enough to protect the Arctic refuge, future generations will condemn us for needlessly sacrificing the wilderness of their world to feed our profligate, short-term and shortsighted energy habit. The pathway to a better, more sustainable energy future does not wind through the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge."

"Arctic Folly," By Jimmy Carter, Tuesday, September 13, 2005; A27, washingtonpost.com
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/12/AR2005091201347_pf.html




#############

#############

"BARTIROMO: 'WE DID AN HOUR-LONG INTERVIEW. IN MY COLUMN IN "BUSINESSWEEK" MAGAZINE FOR A SECOND INTERVIEW WHICH I CONDUCTED ON WEDNESDAY. MY THANKS TO GOVERNOR SARAH PALIN AS WELL AS THE VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE FOR JOHN McCAIN. AND PLEASE JOIN US FOR OUR SPECIAL ONE-HOUR PRESENTATION, 'THE HUNT FOR BLACK GOLD' PREMIERING WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24th. 'THE HUNT FOR BLACK GOLD' THE REASON I FIRST WENT TO ALASKA TO TALK TO SARAH PALIN ABOUT OIL IN ALASKA AND WHERE THE OIL IS IN THIS COUNTRY.'THE HUNT FOR BLACK GOLD' AIRING WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24th."

CNBC's "Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo

"Members of the media can receive more information about CNBC and its programming on the NBC Universal Media Village Web site at http://nbcumv.com/cnbc/.

URL: http://www.cnbc.com/id/26462569/site/14081545/page/2/

© 2008 CNBC.com"



Energy security is Governor Sarah Palin's signature issue, backed by years of close-up experience. It may be the only subject on which there can be robust debate without its being characterized as taking unfair advantage of her, and thus provides a rare opportunity for the public to evaluate her approach to governing, her concern for vulnerable people, and her handling of scientific evidence.

Palin's statements on CNBC's "Closing Bell" [8/29/08] about drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge are contradicted by research of the Congressional Research Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey Biological Science Report, and others. The discrepancies raise questions: does this continue the spin and disregard for scientific evidence we have seen during the Bush administration? Is she unaware of the facts in her own state and area of expertise?

Most of Gov. Palin's statements also appear on the Bush administration's Department of Interior website The contradicting research of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service/Alaska has been marked "This is an Archived File" and a link that is labeled "The Department of the Interior supports opening the Arctic Refuge coastal plain to oil and gas development" takes the user to Interior's page, labeled as "Environmentally Responsible Energy Production in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)."
http://arctic.fws.gov/issues1.htm
http://www.doi.gov/initiatives/energy_new.html

(The Interior site also claims: "In 1980, President Carter and Congress set aside 1.5 million acres of ANWR's Northern Coastal Plain for potential oil development." But there was no Congressional decision on the use of this area other than to protect it from any activity not compatible with its purpose without further legislation by Congress. ANWR's purpose, according to the Congressional Research Service: "Under ANILCA [Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act] one of the purposes of ANWR is to 'conserve fish and wildlife populations and habitats in their natural diversity....' The other three purposes cite fish and wildlife treaty obligations, subsistence use, and maintenance of water quality and quantity.")

Absent from the CNBC interview is any mention of the indigenous Gwich'in Nation, who rely for subsistence and cultural identity upon the Porcupine caribou herd -- the spectacularly migrating herd that depends upon ANWR's Coastal Plain for calving, and that extensive scientific studies project to be negatively impacted by development. International law requires the United States to protect the cultures, subsistence, and ways of life of indigenous peoples; and the Gwich'in have appealed to and are supported by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. Similarly, there is no mention of the U S agreement with Canada "On the Conservation of the Porcupine Caribou Herd."
http://www.lexum.umontreal.ca/ca_us/en/cts.1987.31.en.html

Governor Palin's reliance on more oil as a key transition strategy raises a question: Does she have a grasp of our severely lopsided resources/demand ratio in the world petroleum market, or the current levels of green technology and energy efficiency -- in short, the vision -- to help us transition swiftly from our dangerous dependency on oil? Fareed Zakaria has written, citing the Pentagon-tasked "Winning the Oil Endgame": "We don't need a Manhattan Project to find our way out of our current energy trap. The technologies already exist. But what we're searching for is perhaps even harder -- political leadership and vision."
http://fareedzakaria.com/ARTICLES/newsweek/082905.html

Following is the online transcript of the Bartiromo interview, interpolated with research findings that contradict or question Gov. Palin's statements. This interview was first run on CNBC's 'Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo" in preparation for "The Hunt for Black Gold" documentary. Video available at CNBC.com.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/26462569/site/14081545/

~~~~~~~


PALIN: "ABOUT 20% OF THE U.S. DOMESTIC SUPPLY IS -- OF ENERGY IS PRODUCED UP ON THE NORTH SLOPE. SO VERY, VERY SIGNIFICANT ECONOMICALLY.PHYSICALLY, THANKFULLY, TINY LITTLE FOOTPRINT."
[CNBC's "Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo"]

~~~

FACTCHECK.ORG - CITING THE ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION:

"Palin claims Alaska 'produces nearly 20 percent of the U.S. domestic supply of energy.' That's not true. Alaska did produce 14 percent of all the oil from U.S. wells last year, but that's a far cry from all the 'energy' produced in the U.S. Alaska's share of domestic energy production was 3.5 percent, according to the official figures kept by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. And if by 'supply' Palin meant all the energy consumed in the U.S., and not just produced here, then Alaska's production accounted for only 2.4 percent/"

http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/energetically_wrong.html
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/pet_crd_crpdn_adc_mbbl_a.htm
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/pet_sum_crdsnd_adc_mbbl_a.htm
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/states/sep_prod/P2/PDF/P2.pdf
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/states/hf.jsp?incfile=sep_sum/plain_html/sum_btu_tot.html


~~~~~~~

PALIN: "ANWR AT THAT POINT IT'S ABOUT 2,000 ACRES THAT IS BEING ASKED TO BE LOOKED AT AND TO BE EXPLORED AND TO BE PRODUCED. 2,000 ACRES OUT OF 20 MILLION ACRES. THAT FOOTPRINT, IT'S ABOUT THE SIZE OF L.A.X. OR ONE OF THE LARGER AIRPORTS ACROSS THE NATION. AND THAT SHOULD ALLOW SOME PERSPECTIVE THERE ALSO."
[CNBC's "Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo]

~~~

CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE:

"One single consolidated facility of 2,000 acres (3.1 square miles) would not permit full development of the 1002 area [Coastal Plain area]. Instead, full development of the 1002 area would require that facilities, even if limited to 2,000 acres in total surface area, be widely dispersed. Dispersal is necessary due to the limits of lateral (or extended reach) drilling: the current North Slope record for this technology is 4 miles. If that record were matched on all sides of a single pad, at most about 4% of the Coastal Plain could be developed from the single pad. Even if the current world record (7 miles) were matched, only about 11% of the 1002 area could be accessed from a single compact 2,000-acre facility."

.......

"The term footprint does not have a universally accepted definition, and therefore the types of structures falling under a "footprint restriction" are arguable (e.g., the inclusion of exploratory structures, roads, gravel mines, port facilities, etc.).12 In addition, it is unclear whether exploratory structures, or structures on Native lands, would be included under any provision limiting footprints.13"

Congressional Research Service, Order Code RL33872, "Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR): New Directions in the 110th Congress," February 8, 2007

http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/80677.pdf

~~~

U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE, ALASKA:

"The physical "footprint" of the existing North Slope oil facilities and roads covers about 10,000 acres, but the current industrial complex extends across an 800 square mile region, nearly 100 miles from east to west."

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Alaska, "Potential Impacts of Proposed Oil and Gas Development on the Arctic Refuge's Coastal Plain," 17 January 2001, updated 2/05

http://arctic.fws.gov/issues1.htm#section4

~~~

WILDERNESS SOCIETY:

"Industry's claim that the 'footprint' of oil production would amount to 2,000-acres is based on misleading math that only accounts for the area where oil production facilities actually touch the ground, and excludes gravel mines, roads, and pipelines (except their posts). By their math, the 'footprint' of your office desk is only the 4 square inches where its legs touch the ground."
....

"If the Arctic Refuge were opened to drilling, oil development would sprawl like a spider web across the entire 1.5 million-acre coastal plain--the biological heart of the refuge....."
Wilderness Society statement, quoted in Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, April 28, 2005

~~~

FORMER DIRECTOR, FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE:

"Modern petroleum exploration employs fleets of large vehicles that crisscross the frozen tundra, following a predetermined grid pattern. At frequent intervals, equipment on specially designed and extremely heavy vehicles is used to send shock waves through the ground so that monitoring devices can detect echoes that pinpoint underground oil and gas reserves. Noise from vehicles and seismic vibrations passing too closely can disturb denning polar bears, causing den abandonment and loss of cubs. Modern 3-D seismic exploration now uses grid lines that are often no more than 300 to 400 yards apart."

....

"During the assessment of oil and gas potential on the Refuge coastal plain..., about 1,400 miles of two dimensional (2D) seismic lines were surveyed (1983-85) to collect geophysical information used in the analysis. This work involved the use of bulldozer equipment moving worker camps, heavy seismic vibrators and related materials across the tundra during winter conditions when the ground is frozen and covered with snow. Due to the close proximity of the Brooks Range mountains to the Arctic Ocean in the Refuge, the coastal plain is primarily made up of rolling, hilly terrain which characteristically has uneven snow cover due to redistribution of snow by strong prevailing winds. Consequently, in areas having light snow cover the tundra vegetation was damaged by equipment, which created a variety of trails and visual impacts. Many of the damaged sites were such that significant recovery of vegetation has occurred and appear healed. At other locations, however, the damage persists, and in some cases has further eroded as water drains from sloped terrain in the scars. Damage at such places may last for many decades to come.

"Current state-of-the-art seismic surveys called three-dimensional (3D) require a high spatial density of survey lines (about 300-400 yard spacing). Such surveys create significantly more trails and tundra damage than the older 2D method, because of the increased number of lines, and the amount of vehicle turning that is required at the end of each line (turning of tracked vehicles tends to damage tundra vegetation more that straight travel). The NAS [National Academy of Sciences] report warns that if exploration intensifies in the foothills terrain (like the coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge) the likelihood for increased impact to vegetation, soil erosion and visual values will be significantly greater. In the Arctic Refuge such impacts would destroy the wilderness qualities of the coastal plain, and would diminish visual aesthetics of the plain as seen from higher elevations in the designated Wilderness area to the south."

Former Director, Fish & Wildlife Service, Testimony, Jamie Rappaport Clark,House Resources Committee, March 12, 2003
http://republicans.resourcescommittee.house.gov/archives/108/testimony/rappaportclark.htm


~~~~~~~

PALIN: "NO ONE BUT ALASKANS WILL CARE MORE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE PRESERVING THAT PRISTINE ENVIRONMENT THAT IS ANWR, THE COASTAL PLAIN, PRUTO [sic] BAY, ALASKA AS A WHOLE. AND WHEN YOU ASK ALASKANS DO YOU AGREE TO ALLOW DRILLING TO TAKE PLACE ON THE NORTH SLOPE, SPECIFICALLY HERE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ANWR, DO YOU WANT TO SEE THAT HAPPEN? AND WITH ALASKANS' LOVE AND CARE FOR OUR ENVIRONMENT AND OUR LANDS AND OUR WILDLIFE, ALASKANS ARE SAYING YES BECAUSE WE BELIEVE THAT IT CAN BE DONE SAFELY, PRUDENTLY, AND IT HAD BETTER BE DONE ETHICALLY ALSO. YES, WE WANT TO SEE THAT DRILLING. SO HOPEFULLY THE REST OF AMERICA CAN UNDERSTAND THAT ALSO. YOU GO DOOR TO DOOR AND ASK ALASKANS IF WE ARE READY AND WILLING TO PRODUCE MORE AND CONTRIBUTE MORE TO THE U.S. AND THEY'RE GOING TO TELL YOU YES."
[CNBC's "Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo"]


~~~

INTERNATIONAL INDIAN TREATY COUNCIL, TO U.N. COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS:

"...we call upon the United States Congress and the President to reverse this threat of cultural genocide by recognizing the rights of the Gwich'in people to continue to live their way of life by prohibiting development in the calving and post-calving grounds of the Porcupine Caribou Herd and to recognize the 1002 area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as wilderness area to achieve this end."
....

"It is our firm belief that development would have devastating lasting effects on the Gwich'in socially, culturally and spiritually."

Commission on Human Rights, Fifty-fifth session, 1999, Items 10 and 15 of the provisional agenda. Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Indigenous Issues. Written statement submitted by the International Indian Treaty Council, a non-governmental organization in special consultative status, on behalf of the Gwich'in Steering Committee:

http://www.unhchr.ch/Huridocda/Huridoca.nsf/0/cb3fb9823f87142780256740003a3f45?Opendocument

~~~

GWICH'IN STEERING COMMITTEE

"Old Crow, Canada, was the site of the July 14 - 18, 2008, biennial Gwich'in Gathering. The Gwich'in Nation reaffirmed the position originally taken in 1988 to oppose oil and gas development in the calving and nursery grounds of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge....

"We cannot destroy everything for six months of fuel. Right before our eyes, all avenues are being used to destroy what we have as our way of life.''

Native Currents - Gwich'in honor 20 years of resistance, © Indian Country Today August 15, 2008. All Rights Reserved. Posted: August 15, 2008, by: Luci Beach / Gwich-in Steering Committee

http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096417961

~~~

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GWICH'IN STEERING COMMITTE.

"And please do not forget that this is a place that we as Gwich'in consider The Sacred Place Where Life Begins - no less sacred to Gwich'in than Mt. Fuji to Japanese or Na Wahi Pana where Aloha 'Aina would be expected for Hawaiians."

Luci Beach, Gwichyaa Gwich'in and Vuntut Gwich'in, from Ft. Yukon, is executive director of the Gwich'in Steering Committee. April 21, 2005

http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096410788

~~~

DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW CLINIC AT AMERICAN UNIVERSITY, THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH, GWICH'IN STEERING COMMITTEE:

"International law requires the United States to protect indigenous people's cultures, subsistence, and ways of life as fundamental aspects of human rights. Where these rights are dependent on maintaining a healthy environment, as they are for the Gwich'in [indigenous people], governments are obliged to protect the environment. The proposal being considered by the US Congress to open the 1002 area of the Coastal Plain to oil drilling would violate that obligation, by putting the Porcupine Caribou Herd -- and the Gwich'in nation that depends on it -- at risk."

Gwich'in Steering Committee; The Episcopal Church; & Richard Wilson, Professor of Law and Director of the International Human Rights Law Clinic at American University. "A Moral Choice for the United States: The Human Rights Implications for the Gwich'in of Drilling the the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge," 2005.

(find by googling: A Moral Choice for the United States

~~~

GWICH'IN STEERING COMMITTEE, THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH, DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW CLINIC AT AMERICAN UNIVERSITY

"The Gwich'in live in 15 villages in northeastern

Alaska and northwestern Canada: in Alaska,

these are Arctic Village, Venetie, Chalkyitsik,

Stevens Village, Birch Creek, Circle, Beaver,

Canyon, Eagle, and Fort Yukon; in Canada, they

are Fort McPherson, Inuvik, Aklavik,

Tsiigehtchic (Arctic Red River), and Old Crow.10

The Gwich'in presently number 7,000 to 9,000

people.11

"Western anthropological evidence

suggests that the Gwich'in have occupied their

ancestral lands and harvested caribou for more

than 20,000 years; the Gwich'in believe it has

been this way since time immemorial.12....

"In the words of Gwich'in elder Jonathon

Solomon of Fort Yukon, Alaska, 'It is our belief

that the future of the Gwich'in and the future of

the Caribou are the same.'31 Harm to the

Porcupine Caribou Herd is harm to the

Gwich'in culture and millennia-old way of life.....

"The 1002 area targeted for oil exploration and

development is irreplaceable calving and postcalving

habitat for the Porcupine Caribou

Herd. Drilling in the area would leave the

herd without adequate habitat, almost certainly

leading to the long-term decline of the herd."

Gwich'in Steering Committee; The Episcopal Church; & Richard Wilson, Professor of Law and Director of the International Human Rights Law Clinic at American University. "A Moral Choice for the United States: The Human Rights Implications for the Gwich'in of Drilling the the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge," 2005.

(find by googling: A Moral Choice for the United States

~~~

THE "AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ON THE CONSERVATION OF THE PORCUPINE CARIBOU HERD"

may be found at:
http://www.lexum.umontreal.ca/ca_us/en/cts.1987.31.en.html

~~~

GWICH'IN STEERING COMMITTEE

"The most fictitious statement made is that only one tribe is opposed to development in the Refuge. This is completely wrong.

"First, there are numerous federal tribes in the U.S. and many First Nations in Canada opposed to oil development in the Arctic Refuge's coastal plain. The Gwich'in have the longstanding support of those opposed to oil and gas development from the Tanana Chiefs Conference, which represents 37 federally-recognized tribes in the interior of Alaska, including the Gwich'in. We also have support from the Alaska Inter-Tribal Council, which advocates on behalf of 187 tribal governments.

"There are various individual resolutions from Alaska Native tribes and communities throughout the state. The senators failed to mention that a petition from Kaktovik [Inupiat village on the plain, pop. 188 adults] has the signatures of 57 people and there is a resolution opposed to drilling in the Arctic Refuge and offshore in the Arctic Ocean from the traditional whaling community of Point Hope. Furthermore, outside of Alaska we have the support of numerous tribes.

"This broad opposition to drilling comes from the cultural significance of the lands as well as the ethic of the sanctity of birthplace - a basic principle of many tribes. Furthermore, this is where the distinction has to be made between Alaska Native corporations and tribes."

Executive Director of the Gwich'in Steering Committee, Luci Beach, Gwichyaa Gwich'in and Vuntut Gwich'in, from Ft. Yukon, April 21, 2005.

http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096410788

~~~

A MESSAGE FROM THE HOUSE OF BISHOPS OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH, USA, TO THE UNITED STATES SENATE:

"To risk the destruction of an untouched wilderness and an ancient culture violates our theological mandate to be caretakers of creation." March 14, 2005.
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_59990_ENG_HTM.htm

(background at:
http://www.savearcticrefuge.org/sections/news/bishop.html


~~~~~~~

PALIN: "I THINK THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF MISCONCEPTIONS AND MISPERCEPTIONS ABOUT WHAT ANWR IS ALL ABOUT AND UP ON THE NORTH SLOPE WHAT THE ENVIRONMENT ACTUALLY IS UP THERE. YOU SEE PICTURES, YOU SEE VISUALS FROM THE NAYSAYERS, THE CRITICS OF THE IDEA OF OPENING ANWR, AND THE PICTURES THAT THEY'RE SHOWING ARE MOUNTAINS AND -- POLAR BEARS.... LOTS OF DIFFERENT WILDLIFE. THEY'LL SHOW MOOSE IN A STREAM WITH MOUNTAINS IN THE BACKGROUND.THAT'S NOT ANWR. AND AS YOUR PEOPLE GO UP THERE ALSO AND ACTUALLY GET TO SEE FOR THEMSELVES -- AND WE'VE HAD A LOT OF CONGRESSMEN AND CONGRESSWOMEN COME UP HERE THIS SUMMER EVEN TO SEE FOR THEMSELVES WHAT ACTUALLY IS ANWR, WHAT WOULD BE TOUCHED HERE IN TERMS OF LANDS AND WILDLIFE, THEN THEY SEE THAT THOSE VISUALS THAT HAVE BEEN SHOWED [sic] AMERICA FOR ALL THESE YEARS ARE INACCURATE.THOSE ARE NOT THE PICTURES OF ANWR. THERE AREN'T MOUNTAINS UP THERE,FOR INSTANCE.SO I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF MISPERCEPTION OUT THERE ABOUT WHAT THE PLAIN ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE.AND THE VISUALS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO AMERICANS."
[CNBC's "Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo"]


~~~

WILDLIFE BIOLOGIST, RETIRED FROM STAFF OF ANWR:

"We begin...at the northernmost point of the refuge, the shore of the Arctic Ocean. Looking south, flat land rises gradually up to high rugged mountains on the southern horizon ranging from five to thirty-five miles distant....Because the mountains are near to the Arctic Ocean in the refuge, the north-flowing rivers have a steeper gradient than those west of the refuge, where the distance from mountains to coast is much greater and the land is flatter. Thus there is more variable terrain in the Arctic Refuge coastal plain, especially where the swift-flowing rivers have cut through hills, leaving banks and bluffs....The steeper slope of the refuge coastal plain and foothills enables water to drain more swiftly, leaving relatively few lakes and ponds and primarily upland tundra vegetation."

Fran Mauer, ANWR Wildlife Biologist, retired, in "Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Seasons of Life and Land," by Subhankar Banerjee

~~~

PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE COASTAL PLAIN IN THE CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES EXHIBIT "THE ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE: SEASONS OF LIFE AND LAND":

http://www.calacademy.org/exhibits/anwr/anwr_photo8.html
http://www.calacademy.org/exhibits/anwr/anwr_photo10.html
http://www.calacademy.org/exhibits/anwr/anwr_photo1.html
http://www.calacademy.org/exhibits/anwr/anwr_photo5.html
http://www.calacademy.org/exhibits/anwr/anwr_photo4.html
http://www.calacademy.org/exhibits/anwr/anwr_photo3.html

~~~

CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE

"The FLEIS [Final Legislative Environmental Impact Statement] rated the Refuge's biological resources highly: ....'The 1002 area is the most biologically productive part of the Arctic Refuge for wildlife and is the center of wildlife activity' (p. 46). The biological value of the 1002 area rests on intense productivity in the short arctic summer; many species arrive or awake from dormancy to take advantage of this richness, and leave or become dormant during the remainder of the year."

Congressional Research Service, Order Code RL33872, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR): New Directions in the 110th Congress, February 8, 2007.
http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/80677.pdf

~~~

U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE, ALASKA

"The 1002 Area is critically important to the ecological integrity of the whole Arctic Refuge, providing essential habitats for numerous internationally important species such as the Porcupine Caribou herd and polar bears. The compactness and proximity of a number of arctic and subarctic ecological zones in the Arctic Refuge provides for greater plant and animal diversity than in any other similar sized land area on Alaska's North Slope."

US Fish & Wildlife Service, Alaska, "Potential Impacts of Proposed Oil and Gas Development on the Arctic Refuge's Coastal Plain: Historical Overview and Issues of Concern," 2001, update 2006.

http://arctic.fws.gov/issues1.htm

~~~

U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE, ALASKA

"The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is the largest unit in the National Wildlife Refuge System. The Refuge is America's finest example of an intact, naturally functioning community of arctic/subarctic ecosystems. Such a broad spectrum of diverse habitats occurring within a single protected unit is unparalleled in North America, and perhaps in the entire circumpolar north.

"When the Eisenhower Administration established the original Arctic Range in 1960, Secretary of Interior Seaton described it as:

" 'one of the world's great wildlife areas. The great diversity of vegetation and topography in this compact area, together with its relatively undisturbed condition, led to its selection as ... one of our remaining wildlife and wilderness frontiers.' "

US Fish & Wildlife Service, Alaska, "Potential Impacts of Proposed Oil and Gas Development on the Arctic Refuge's Coastal Plain: Historical Overview and Issues of Concern," 2001, update 2006.

http://arctic.fws.gov/issues1.htm


~~~~~~~

PALIN: "MORE AND MORE AMERICANS ARE RECOGNIZING IT IS TIME TO RAMP UP AMERICAN SUPPLY OF ENERGY, ESPECIALLY WE'RE A NATION AT WAR, A LOT OF THE ISSUES THAT ARE SO ADVERSELY AFFECTING AMERICA ARE BASED ON ENERGY SUPPLIES AS WE'RE RELYING ON FOREIGN SOURCES OF ENERGY TO FEED OUR HUNGRY MARKETS....ALASKA HAS THESE SUPPLIES....STILL SITTING UNDERGROUND, IN A SENSE BEING WAREHOUSED.IT'S TIME TO UNLOCK THESE RESERVES ...AND START FLOWING THAT ENERGY INTO THE DOMESTIC MARKETS THAT ARE SO HUNGRY SO THAT WE CAN BECOME LESS RELIANT ON FOREIGN SOURCES OF ENERGY. AS MORE AMERICANS RECOGNIZE THAT, MORE AMERICANS, I BELIEVE,ARE CHOOSING TO EDUCATE THEMSELVES ON WHAT ANWAR [sic] IS REALLY ALL ABOUT."

BARIROMO: "FOR SURE. AND I GUESS THIS YEAR THERE WAS A PRICE AND ONCE THERE WAS A PRICE THAT WAS ACTUALLY REACHED IT WAS -- PEOPLE GOT IT."

PALIN: "YEAH. I BELIEVE SO TOO."
[CNBC's "Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo"]

~~~

ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION

"With respect to the world oil price impact, projected ANWR oil production constitutes between 0.4 and 1.2 percent of total world oil consumption in 2030, based on the low and high resource cases, respectively.1 Consequently, ANWR oil production is not projected to have a large impact on world oil prices. Relative to the AEO2008 reference case, ANWR oil production is projected to have its largest oil price reduction impacts as follows: a reduction in low-sulfur, light (LSL) crude oil2 prices of $0.41 per barrel (2006 dollars) in 2026 in the low oil resource case, $0.75 per barrel in 2025 in the mean oil resource case, and $1.44 per barrel in 2027 in the high oil resource case. Assuming that world oil markets continue to work as they do today, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) could neutralize any potential price impact of ANWR oil production by reducing its oil exports

Analysis of Crude Oil Production in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, May 2008, Energy Information Administration.
http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/servicerpt/anwr/pdf/sroiaf(2008)03.pdf

~~~

RESEARCH ASSOCIATES, ESTER, ALASKA:

"During the decade between 2021 and 2030, Arctic Refuge production

would reduce prices at the gas pump by approximately $0.032 (3.2

cents) per gallon. At peak, the gas pump reduction would be less than

$0.04 (four cents) per gallon, based on a $0.78 per barrel reduction in

the price of crude oil (all figures in 2008 dollars)."

"Existing Conservation and Alternative Technology Gains Far Outweigh Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Potential: Oil Imports Have Declined Significantly Since 2005." A Report to the Alaska Wilderness League By Richard A. Fineberg, Principal Investigator, Research Associates, Ester, Alaska 99725, June 4, 2008.
http://www.alaskawild.org/wp-content/files/Press_Releases/Fineberg_Report_6-4-08.pdf


~~~~~~~~

PALIN: "LET'S LOOK AT LESSONS LEARNED OVER THE LAST 30 YEARS WHEN THE TRANSALASKA OIL PIPELINE WAS FINALLY ALLOWED TO BE BUILT AND THERE WERE...THE FEARS THAT THE CARIBOU HERDS WOULD DIMINISH AND DIE OFF. NO, THE CARIBOU HERDS ARE ACTUALLY THRIVING. THEY'RE FLOURISHING. THERE HAVE NOT BEEN THE ADVERSE IMPACTS ON THE CARIBOU HERDS. SO WE ANTICIPATE THE SAME THING AS WE TAP MORE ENERGY SUPPLIES UP ON THE NORTH SLOPE IN ANWR AND AS WE BUILD A NATURAL GAS PIPELINE ALSO THAT'S UNDER WAY AT THIS POINT. ....AND BY THE WAY, BIDEN, JOE BIDEN WAS ONE WHO VOTED AGAINST THAT TRANSALASKA OIL PIPELINE 30 YEARS AGO. HE WAS FEARFUL OF ALLOWING RAMPED UP DOMESTIC SUPPLIES OF FOREIGN ENERGY EVEN THEN. SO OF COURSE I FEAR THAT IF HE'S OF THE SAME MIND TODAY WE'RE IN A WORLD OF HURT THERE. NO. THE ENVIRONMENT WILL CONTINUE TO BE PROTECTED. OUR WILDLIFE WILL CONTINUE TO THRIVE AND TO PROSPER UP THERE. AND WE'RE GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE STRINGENT AND SAFE OVERSIGHT THAT IS NECESSARY AND THAT WILL ALLOW THE POPULATION OF THIS WILDLIFE AND THE PRISTINENESS OF THE AREA TO CONTINUE."
[CNBC's "Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo"]

~~~

FORMER DIRECTOR, FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE:

"The likelihood of coastal plain development having adverse effects on the Porcupine herd is often discounted by oil drilling proponents through comparisons with other areas where development is already taking place and caribou numbers have increased. However, conditions on the Arctic Refuge coastal plain differ from currently developed areas on State of Alaska lands west of the Refuge, making comparisons of the two largely inappropriate.

"The coastal plain around the oil fields is more than 100 miles wide. It is used by relatively few caribou. Oil development that has been underway for many years has resulted in the displacement of Central Arctic caribou to other nearby habitat. In contrast, the narrow Arctic Refuge coastal plain is densely occupied by caribou and is bracketed by sea on one side and mountains on the other. Porcupine herd caribou displaced by oil development would not find other comparable habitat readily available.

"The Arctic Refuge environmental assessment written in 1987 concluded that oil development would have a "major" impact on the Porcupine caribou herd, defined as "widespread, long-term change in habitat availability or quality which would likely modify natural abundance or distribution" of the species. While the technology has improved, there is little question that the disturbance caused by the presence of drilling pads, pipelines, and facilities would displace the Porcupine caribou herd from their preferred calving habitat on the coastal plain, just as it has with the Central Arctic herd near the Prudhoe Bay oilfields. Furthermore, recent findings by DOI researchers published in 2002, documented that entire areas of calving concentration have shifted away from oilfield developments during the past 15 years. Findings of the National Academy of Science released last week [2003] show that during 1988 to 2001, Central Arctic herd cows that were displaced by oilfield developments had significantly lower reproductive success than in areas where they were not disturbed.

"The survival rate of Porcupine herd calves has averaged 14 percent lower in years when late snowmelt has displaced calving from the coastal plain to areas with poorer forage and more predators. A reduction of long-term calf production and survival of as little as five percent would be sufficient to prevent population growth in the Porcupine caribou herd. If the average survival rate falls by more than five percent--a distinct possibility if oil development occurs--the herd would be unable to recover from natural declines. The Porcupine herd has shown the lowest growth capacity of the arctic herds in Alaska, and therefore is the least resilient to the impacts of development."

Former Director, Fish & Wildlife Service, Testimony, Jamie Rappaport Clark, House Resources Committee, March 12, 2003.
http://republicans.resourcescommittee.house.gov/archives/108/testimony/rappaportclark.htm


~~~~

U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE, ALASKA

"There are fundamental differences between the calving areas of the Central Arctic and the Porcupine herds. In the case of the Central Arctic herd, there is a greater amount of alternative calving area available for displaced cows to move to because the mountains are much farther from the ocean. The 1002 Area is only one-fifth the size of the area used by the Central Arctic caribou herd, but six times as many caribou use the 1002 Area. In the Arctic Refuge, where the mountains are close to the coast, few alternative areas would be available for displaced cows. If the 1002 Area was developed, the associated pipelines, roads, and structures would potentially impact the Porcupine Caribou herd by:

* reducing the amount and quality of preferred forage available during and after calving,

* restricting access to important coastal insect-relief habitats,

* exposing the herd to higher predation, and

* altering an ancient migratory pattern, the effects of which we can not predict.

"A reduction in annual calf survival of as little as 5% would be sufficient to cause a decline in the Porcupine caribou population."

US Fish & Wildlife Service, Alaska, "Arctic National Wildlife Refuge." Updated February 2005
http://arctic.fws.gov/issues1.htm

~~~

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE REPORT:

"In summary, 4 research-based ecological arguments indicate that the Porcupine caribou herd may be particularly sensitive to development within the 1002 portion of the calving ground:

"Low productivity of the Porcupine caribou herd ....

"Demonstrated shift of concentrated calving areas of the Central Arctic caribou herd away from petroleum development infrastructures ....

"Lack of high-quality alternate calving habitat....

"Strong link between calf survival and free movement of females"

"Arctic Refuge Coastal Plain: Terrestrial Wildlife Research Summaries, U.S. Department of Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Science Report USGS/BRD/BSR-2002-0001. Edited by D. C. Douglas, U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, Alaska; P. E. Reynolds, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Fairbanks, Alaska; E. B. Rhode, Expression, Anchorage, Alaska.

http://www.absc.usgs.gov/1002/section3part5.htm#Conclusions


~~~~~~~

PALIN: "WE NEED TO DRILL, DRILL, DRILL OTHERWISE, I CANNOT BELIEVE A DOMESTIC SOLUTION IS ANY PART OF A NATIONAL ENERGY POLICY IF THEY'RE NOT GOING TO LET ALASKANS DRILL ON OUR OWN LANDS AND ON FEDERAL LANDS WITHIN OUR OWN STATE."
[CNBC's "Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo"]


~~~

PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER:

" 'We left 95 percent of the areas with potential petroleum reserves in Alaska open to exploration and outside the boundaries of the protected areas,' [President] Carter said yesterday. 'My only disappointment was that we did not firmly act to designate the coastal plain as wilderness.'

" 'We don't need it,' he added. 'Its contribution would be tiny, six months of the country's petroleum needs. It would destroy the wilderness up there and one of the continent's last great predator-prey ecosystems.' "

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, Saturday, February 3, 2001.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/anwr03.shtml


~~~~~~~

PALIN: " AND IF A DOMESTIC SOLUTION ISN'T PART OF A NATIONAL ENERGY PLAN, THEN OUR NATION IS IN A WORLD OF HURT, WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO BE RELIANT ON FOREIGN DANGEROUS REGIMES TO FEED OUR HUNGRY MARKETS." [CNBC's "Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo"]


~~~

"DON'T TRADE ONE SECURITY PROBLEM FOR ANOTHER"

"...over half of the 800-mile Trans-Alaskan Pipeline System (TAPS) is elevated and accessible. This rapidly aging pipeline [is],,,arguably the most brittle part of the entire U.S. energy infrastructure. Oil from beneath the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge... would prolong dependence on TAPS for decades....Yet TAPS is even easier to disrupt and harder to mend than that famous Persian Gulf chokepoint. TAPS has already been sabotaged, shot at over 50 times (punctured once), and incompetently bombed twice (penetrated once)....A longer hiatus [than the license requirement of an unspecified "short" time after an interruption of oilflow at 40 degrees F.], or in winter, could turn nine million barrels of gooey oil into the world's largest Chap Stick." [p.16]

"Energy Security Facts: Details and Documentation," Rocky Mountain Institute, 2003.

Find by googling: Energy Security Facts: Details and Documentation


~~~~~~~~

PALIN: "...I THINK OUR NATION IS AT A CROSS-ROADS ALSO....OUR NATION'S GOING TO BE IN A WORLD OF HURT WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT NATIONAL SECURITY, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT EVER REACHING POTENTIAL TOWARD ENERGY INDEPENDENCE, IF WE CANNOT IMPLEMENT A DOMESTIC SOLUTION FOR THIS NATIONAL ENERGY POLICY....ALASKA SHOULD BE A LEADER IN THIS PLAN BECAUSE WE HAVE THE CONVENTIONAL, THE NON-RENEWABLE SUPPLIES, THE PETROLEUM....WE ALSO HAVE THE RENEWABLES....WE HAVE THE LARGEST TIDES ON THE CONTINENT, WE HAVE THE GEOTHERMAL, WE HAVE THE WINDS.WE HAVE ALL THESE ALTERNATIVE RENEWABLE SOURCE THAT'S ALSO CAN BE TAPPED INTO AS WE WORK COLLECTIVELY AND COMPREHENSIVELY ON AN ENERGY PLAN. WE NEED TO BE DOING EVERYTHING, AND PEOPLE NEED TO BE REALISTIC ALSO. AND THIS IS ALSO WHAT KIND OF SCARES ME ABOUT BIDEN AND OBAMA ALSO, IS IT SEEMS TO BE ALMOST A NAIVE NOTION OF THEIRS THAT WE CAN AUTOMATICALLY JUST JUMP RIGHT INTO A RENEWABLE SUPPLY OF ENERGY TO FEED HUNGRY MARKETS ACROSS OUR NATION WHEN THESE RENEWABLES ARE NOT YET PROVEN TO BE ECONOMIC NOR RELIABLE. WE'RE GOING TO BE IN A TRANSITION PERIOD FOR QUITE SOME TIME WHERE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO CONTINUE TO BE RELIANT ON CONVENTIONAL SOURCES OF ENERGY AS WE'RE WORKING ON THE RENEWABLES...IT'S NAIVE TO THINK WE CAN GO RIGHT TO RENEWABLES AND THINK THAT'S EVER GOING TO WORK FOR OUR NATION TODAY AT THIS TIME."
[CNBC's "Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo"]


~~~

AMORY LOVINS, LEAD AUTHOR OF "WINNING THE OIL ENDGAME," TASKED BY THE PENTAGON:

"With cheap oil-saving technologies and alternative fuels already at our disposal, the sooner we get off oil, the sooner we'll start making bigger profits. That's right -- profits. The conventional wisdom is that $50-a-barrel oil has made alternatives to fossil fuels economically viable. But the truth is that they were viable back when oil was $25 a barrel. The arguments in favor of phasing out oil have now merely become overwhelming." ....

"It's entirely possible to cut projected U.S. oil consumption in half by 2025, and eliminate it completely by 2050, without compromising rapid economic growth."....

"Mandates, subsidies and taxes aren't needed to implement these changes. What's needed are smart business strategies and enlightened government policies that remove barriers to adopting new technology."

"How to Live Without Oil: New energy sources and efficiency could make petroleum obsolete," Newsweek International, Aug. 8, 2005.

now available at
http://www.energybulletin.net/node/7753

~~~

NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR TO PRESIDENT REAGAN:

"[T]he means of achieving near-term energy security and ultimate independence from foreign oil are at hand. Courage and leadership are all that it takes to get us there."

Robert McFarlane, National Security Advisor to President Reagan, about the Pentagon-tasked report "Winning the Oil Endgame"
http://oilendgame.com/CommentsAndReviews.html

~~~

FAREED ZAKARIA, COLUMNIST, CITING "WINNING THE OIL ENDGAME" AND OTHERS

"We don't need a Manhattan Project to find our way out of our current energy trap. The technologies already exist. But what we're searching for is perhaps even harder -- political leadership and vision."

Newsweek, Aug. 29 - Sept. 5, 2005 issue, Fareed Zakaria, columnist, "How to Escape the Oil Trap."
http://fareedzakaria.com/ARTICLES/newsweek/082905.html

~~~

INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY:

" ' Petrol, is like a girlfriend, you know since the beginning of your relation that she will leave you one day, summarizes Mr Birol. For her not to break your heart, it is better to leave her before she leaves you.' Also he sends a double message to the consumer countries, much firmer than in the annual report Published in autumn, 2004: 'save energy, save petrol! And diversify, please. Get out of petrol! ' "

Fatih Birol, director of economic studies, International Energy Agency, September 2005.
http://www.globalpublicmedia.com/articles/513

~~~

AMORY LOVINS VIDEOS (LEAD AUTHOR OF "WINNING THE OIL ENDGAME" ON CHARLIE ROSE:
http://www.charlierose.com/shows/2008/07/15/2/a-conversation-with-amory-lovins

"WINNING THE OIL ENDGAME" MAY BE DOWNLOADED AT:
http://www.oilendgame.com/

~~~

PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER:

"If we are not wise enough to protect the Arctic refuge, future generations will condemn us for needlessly sacrificing the wilderness of their world to feed our profligate, short-term and shortsighted energy habit. The pathway to a better, more sustainable energy future does not wind through the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge."

"Arctic Folly," By Jimmy Carter, Tuesday, September 13, 2005; A27, washingtonpost.com
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/12/AR2005091201347_pf.html




#############

#############

"BARTIROMO: 'WE DID AN HOUR-LONG INTERVIEW. IN MY COLUMN IN "BUSINESSWEEK" MAGAZINE FOR A SECOND INTERVIEW WHICH I CONDUCTED ON WEDNESDAY. MY THANKS TO GOVERNOR SARAH PALIN AS WELL AS THE VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE FOR JOHN McCAIN. AND PLEASE JOIN US FOR OUR SPECIAL ONE-HOUR PRESENTATION, 'THE HUNT FOR BLACK GOLD' PREMIERING WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24th. 'THE HUNT FOR BLACK GOLD' THE REASON I FIRST WENT TO ALASKA TO TALK TO SARAH PALIN ABOUT OIL IN ALASKA AND WHERE THE OIL IS IN THIS COUNTRY.'THE HUNT FOR BLACK GOLD' AIRING WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24th."

CNBC's "Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo

"Members of the media can receive more information about CNBC and its programming on the NBC Universal Media Village Web site at http://nbcumv.com/cnbc/.

URL: http://www.cnbc.com/id/26462569/site/14081545/page/2/

© 2008 CNBC.com"

The April--December 2010 posts here are chain emails I received that were highly questionable at best, and my responses to them.  FactCheck, PolitiFact, etc, were just getting started, so I had to dig a bit, and decided to collect the emails here.

Each email entry begins with my response, in regular format;  the chain email follows in completely bold font.

EMAILS - #16 "CBS Sunday Morning"

To: Friend 1
From: 
Subject: Re: FW: Fwd: CBS Sunday Morning


Thanks,________!

(Received this summer of '09. Glad to learn then that Dr. Spock's son was not a suicide -- but so sad to read that his grandson was, and was schizophrenic.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr_Spock

First section is from Ben Stein.
http://www.benstein.com/121805xmas.html
Some additions start at "In light of the many jokes we send...."

I think we should teach religions in school -- but I'm thankful for the "no establishment" clause in the constitution -- I'd rather be the one to choose my kids' religious leaders than have the gov't do it
; >  
FWIW!)


*********************
Thank you, _____! This is great!!

On Mon, Dec 6, 2010 at 8:08 AM, ________ wrote:


Remarks from CBS Sunday Morning, A Must Read If You Are Human! Only hope we find GOD again before it is too late!

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary:

My confession: I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are, Christmas trees.


It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto.  In fact, I kind of like it.  It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu . If people want a creche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from, that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.     In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her 'How could God let something like this happen?' (regarding Hurricane Katrina). Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, 'I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?'

In light of recent events...terrorists attack, school shootings, etc., I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said 'OK'.

Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says 'Thou shalt not kill', 'Thou shalt not steal,' and 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' And we said 'OK'.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave, because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem. We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said 'okay'. (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide.)

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves. Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing yet? Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.  Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not, then just discard it . . . no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.

My best regards, honestly and respectfully,
Ben Stein 

EMAILS - #15 "Scrap Yard"

To: Friend 1
From:
Subject: Re: Fwd: Fwd: Scrap Yard


If only we could harness the hot air from elections, right?!     ; >
B


"Since the end of the Cold War, the Department [of Energy] has focused on

* environmental clean up of the nuclear weapons complex,
* nonproliferation and stewardship of the nuclear stockpile,
* energy efficiency and conservation, and
* technology transfer and industrial competitiveness."
     http://www.energy.gov/about/origins.htm         


e.g. "The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, providing more than 40 percent of total funding for this vital area of national importance.[2]
"The Office of Science directs funding for the scientific research via the following Program Offices:
• Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR)
• Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
• Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
• Fusion Energy Sciences (FES)
• High Energy Physics (HEP)
• Nuclear Physics (NP)
• Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Energy


Origins & Evolution of the Department of Energy
http://www.energy.gov/about/origins.htm

"The origins of the Department of Energy can be traced to the Manhattan Project and the race to develop the atomic bomb during World War II.... Following the war, Congress engaged in a vigorous and contentious debate over civilian versus military control of the atom. The Atomic Energy Act of 1946 settled the debate by creating the Atomic Energy Commission.... to maintain civilian government control over the field of atomic research and development....

"In response to changing needs in the mid 1970's, the Atomic Energy Commission was abolished and the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 created two new agencies: the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to regulate the nuclear power industry and the Energy Research and Development Administration to manage the nuclear weapon, naval reactor, and energy development programs.

".... The Department of Energy, activated on October 1, 1977, assumed the responsibilities of the Federal Energy Administration, the Energy Research and Development Administration, the Federal Power Commission, and parts and programs of several other agencies.
.... The Department undertook responsibility for long-term, high-risk research and development of energy technology, federal power marketing, energy conservation, the nuclear weapons program, energy regulatory programs, and a central energy data collection and analysis program.

"Over its two decade history, the Department has shifted its emphasis and focus as the needs of the nation have changed. During the late 1970's, the Department emphasized energy development and regulation. In the 1980's, nuclear weapons research, development, and production took a priority. Since the end of the Cold War, the Department has focused on environmental clean up of the nuclear weapons complex, nonproliferation and stewardship of the nuclear stockpile, energy efficiency and conservation, and technology transfer and industrial competitiveness.

"Today, the Department of Energy contributes to the future of the nation by ensuring our energy security, maintaining the safety and reliability of our nuclear stockpile, cleaning up the environment from the legacy of the Cold War, and developing innovations in science and technology.


*******************************
----- Forwarded Message -----
From:
To:
Sent: Fri, 08 Oct 2010 09:05:40 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Fwd: Scrap Yard


Once upon a time the government had a vast scrap yard in the middle of a desert. Congress said, "Someone may steal from it at night."

So they created a night watchman position and hired a person for the job.

Then Congress said, "How does the watchman do his job without instruction?" So they created a planning department and hired two people, one person to write the instructions, and one person to do time studies.

Then Congress said, "How will we know the night watchman is doing the tasks correctly?" So they created a Quality Control department and hired two people: oneto do the studies and one to write the reports.

Then Congress said, "How are these  people going to get paid?" So they created two positions: a time keeper and a payroll officer, then hired two people.

Then Congress said, "Who will be accountable for all of these people?" So they created an administrative section and hired three people, an
Administrative Officer, Assistant Administrative Officer, and a  Legal Secretary.

Then Congress said, "We  have had this command in operation for one year and we are $918,000 over budget, we must cut back." So they laid off the night watchman.

NOW slowly, let it sink in.

Quietly, we go like sheep to slaughter.

Does anybody remember the reason given for  the establishment of
the DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY..... during the  Carter Administration?

Anybody?

Anything?

No?

Didn't think so!

Bottom line. We've spent several hundred billion dollars in support of an agency....the reason for which not one person who reads this can remember!

Ready??
It was very simple..and at the time, everybody thought it very appropriate.

The Department of Energy was instituted on 8/04/1977,
TO LESSEN OUR DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL.

Hey, pretty efficient, huh???

AND NOW IT'S 2010 -- 33 YEARS LATER -- AND THE BUDGET FOR THIS "NECESSARY" DEPARTMENT IS AT $24.2 BILLION A YEAR. IT HAS 16,000 FEDERAL EMPLOYEES AND APPROXIMATELY 100,000 CONTRACT EMPLOYEES; AND LOOK AT THE JOB IT HAS DONE! (THIS IS WHERE YOU SLAP YOUR FOREHEAD AND SAY,

"WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?")

33 years ago 30% of our oil consumption was foreign imports. Today 70% of our oil consumption is foreign imports.

Ah, yes -- good old Federal bureaucracy.

NOW, WE HAVE TURNED OVER THE BANKING SYSTEM, HEALTH CARE, AND THE AUTO INDUSTRY TO THE SAME GOVERNMENT?

Hello!! Anybody Home?


NOVEMBER, NOVEMBER, NOVEMBER!