ANWR a must read

“Yo, Briar, I could not care any less about how much $ the oil companies or anybody else makes in an honorable way.
This, though, is no "factoid"....the multi-national oil corprations are an entrenched and powerful entity that does not necessarily have our best interest in mind. That is why we should exercise what power we have to try to head our energy policies toward real self-sufficiency. And, the infrastructure change necessary to put a couple of solar panels on your roof are almost nothing. There's a good start.”

“I'd hate to burst your bubbles but does anybody remember their economics class? The oil companies are going to make the same amount of money regardless of the amount of oil they sell. By increasing the supply of oil, the price drops because it becomes less scarce. If opec limits the oil and supply decreases, then the price goes up. The oil company is still making the same amount of money, so drilling won't just "line the pockets of the oil industry."”

“If we are going to continue to be dependent upon OIL, then we had better start securing our own en masse ... personally, I think that newer technologies hold the key to our future. There's lots of info out there if you use your search engine to find it.”

“You are right, wyrd. Fuel cells in cars are the answer. They'll still use gas at first. But I understand that Detroit will start rolling them out in the next few years - big gains in efficiency and exhaust.

The big thing is that they are now becoming economically feasible. Things really only change dramatically when there is an economic incentive.”

“Looks like ANWR will be poked with many deep holes for the measly oil reserve underneith...

WASHINGTON - House lawmakers opened the way for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as one of their last acts of an all-night session Monday bringing their legislative year to a close.

The ANWR provision was attached to a major defense bill, forcing many opponents of oil and gas exploration in the barren northern Alaska range to vote for it.

Sneaky bassturds! All the oil money will go into big-oil pockets, some to our government, and it'a already known that the oil will not even go toward the American people and our plight for cheaper fuel, but to those "out of country" who will pay the most for it.

And I'd like to say that as someone who works for a company who cleans up petroleum-impacted land that the bigger the operation the bigger the mess left behind, no matter how advanced the recovery and refinery methods are.
last edited: 12/19/05 7:23:20 AM”

“What a load of BS, and what a waste of money. They could have used that cash to fund research for an alternative fuel to petroleum.”

“I still believe

it will not happen.”

“its gotta get thru the senate still.”

“Good point Roam.”

“If we could capture all the hot air in Congress we wouldn't need fossil fuels.”

“WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Democrats on Monday threatened a filibuster to stop Republicans from adding language to a must-pass defense spending bill that would allow oil drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051219/sc_nm/energy_congress_dc

Furious Democrats said including ANWR in funding for U.S. soldiers and Pentagon weapons programs violated Senate rules that require a spending bill to include only germane items.


Democrats first planned a parliamentary procedure to challenge the ANWR language in the bill, saying it was added by negotiators and did not appear in the original versions of the House and Senate defense spending bills.

If Republicans override the chamber's parliamentary ruling with a simple majority of 51 votes, Democrats said they would launch a filibuster to talk the bill to death.

"I don't have any hesitation to be a part of a filibuster," said Democrat Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut. "This is a fight worth waging."

Republicans must have 60 votes to end a filibuster, cutting off debate and allowing a bill to have a vote.
last edited: 12/19/05 3:20:17 PM”

“Several republican house member were peeved that they stuck the ANWR stuff in the defense bill, but they still passed it - couldn't let themselves be seen as stopping funding to our boys in service, now could they.”

“Arctic refuge drilling blocked

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/12/21/arctic.drilling.ap/index.html”

“there really needs to be some congressional reform on this subject...the practice of tacking an amendment on to a bill that has nothing to do with it is ridiculous and is happening way too much...i know it's been done for ever and both sides have done it but it needs to stop...it's pretty sad when a good bill gets killed or a bad amendment gets through because of this practice”

“The attached ANWR language was already illegal but the conservatives were trying to let it slid. That is the crap that needs to be fixed.”

“YAY for ANWR!!! YAY for the wilderness! Good news!”

“WOO HOO!!!”

“The vote was in favor of drilling, but I guess they assume it's "defeated" because they didn't get enough votes to keep it from being filibustered?”

“Senate Democrats succeeded on Wednesday in blocking, for now, oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which Republicans sought to add to a massive $453 billion war-time military spending bill.

The Republican majority failed to get the required 60 votes in the 100-member chamber needed to cut off debate. The vote was 56-44.”

“ANCHORAGE, United States (AFP) - An oil pipeline leak on Alaska's North Slope has spewed up to 220,000 liters (58,000 gallons) of crude onto the tundra, causing one of the region's worst spills, officials said.

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The leak, apparently caused by metal corrosion, was detected in the United States' largest oil field a week ago and forced the shutdown of a pipeline in the Prudhoe Bay field to allow for repairs and a clean-up.

"It has covered a 1.93 acres (0.77 hectares) of snow-covered tundra at the end of a frozen lake," the spokeswoman said, pointing out that the biggest crude leak on the North Slope was a 39,850-gallon (127,500-litre) spill in 1989.

The leak was detected on March 2 by a British Petroleum (BP) worker in the Prudhoe field, which lies about 1,040 kilometers (650 miles) north of Alaska's biggest city, Anchorage.”

“Sad thing is, that much crude is used in the US every 4.2 seconds, so that much closer to running out.
last edited: 3/09/06 7:00:25 PM”

“Puzzled by this report.

1.93 acres is NOT a very big area, my house sits on about 2 acres.

58,000 gallons is a HUGE amount of oil.

Something is incorrect with this report because it is still winter in the ANWR.

If it was summer there would be a slight possibility of the ground soaking up all the oil like a sponge, but not in winter.
Also "the end of a frozen lake" would imply that the contaminated area was flat, so it would spread further.

That amount of oil should cover many, many more acres than 1.93.

Perhaps absorbed by snow ?? but I seriously doubt that 2 acres of snow could absorb 58,000 gallons of oil.

Lets see 1 acre is 4840 square yards so we would have about 6 gallons (24 quarts) of oil for each square yard.

The math does not work”

“Its likely very cold there right now so the oil is not very viscuous and so does not flow far.”

“This story has better information. Its possible that it has been leaking for some time, but they don't know yet. http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/7496428p-7406770c.html”

“Critic admits mistake
Earlier this week, oil industry critic Chuck Hamel said onsite personnel told him that about 798,000 gallons had spilled. But Hamel, of Alexandria, Va., said Wednesday he misinterpreted the information.

Beaudo said that number is a "rough estimate" of the volume the 34-inch line could hold.

The bulk of the oil remains inside the pipeline, which was shut down, depressurized and blocked off at both ends after the spill was discovered by a BP operator.

Workers have temporarily patched a quarter-inch hole apparently caused by internal corrosion. They've also tented the affected section to allow heating for testing the integrity of pipeline.

Yeah, I am sure it was just an honest mistake.

Here is a pic of part of the spill

last edited: 3/10/06 7:30:54 AM”

“Lets run across recent developments in LEFTISTS ENVIORNMENTAL THEORY.
1. Exxon Valdez - destruction for ever must intervene....Truth, nature did its usual job much better than mankind
2. Mt St. Helens - Let nature regrow the area. TRUTH - The areas covered by Timber companies regrew (SHAZAAAAM) quicker.
3. AND MY PERSONAL FAVORITE - THE GULF WAR OIL FIRES WILL TAKE 60 years to put out....reality...9 months OOPSIE

LOOK WHEN YOU CAN'T Even figure out which end of the bat to hold, why the hell do you walk into the baseball park?”

“No biggie you can hardly seeit on that snow.”

“Folks, the picture in the prior post is not of the current spill.

It can't be or else the spill is not on the North Slope but much further south along the pipeline where the sun shines between the fall and spring equinox.

Or maybe we've been lied to all these years about the 6 months of darkness north of the Arctic Circle.
last edited: 3/10/06 8:25:14 AM”

“http://www.sitnews.us/0306news/030606/030606_leak_located.html

You are wrong.”

“So, the sun does shine north of the Arctic Circle on March 5? Hmmmm.
last edited: 3/10/06 8:39:04 AM”

“I wouldn't know, I've never been there. What I know, I learned from watching Northern Exposure :)”

“Northern Exposure was filmed in the state of Washington, I think.”

“Lone I just checked the weather report from up there...they got 12 hours of sunlight today....I thought it was dark there too.”

“Up there where, Prudhoe Bay or Valdez, either end of the pipeline about 800 miles apart.”

“OK, Prudhow Bay is only 24 of darkness from early Nov. to early Feb. Live and learn. Quick geo lesson for me, the Arctic Circle is the point where the sun fails to rise for one 24 hour period in December and as you move north the number of days it does not rise during the winter increases.
last edited: 3/10/06 9:29:01 AM”

“At this time of year, as always ,Washington DC is the only place the sun never shins.”

“Salebored....The beltway is the ORIGINAL Black Hole (LOL)”

“Hey, did you know that every galaxy has a black hole at its center? That these black holes are what actually creates the galaxy? Love the science channel.”

“Volume loss estimates are ALWAYS conservative.

And spills like these are simply the nature of the beast. All gasoline stations, truck stops, transfer stations, pipelines, refineries, and even transporters have leaked fuel to some extent which has reached into our groundwater. If you only knew what was underground and the extent of impact at all the gasoline stations you frequent and drive by everyday, it'd make you sick. Alaska is truely our next frontier...of extensive petroleum-impacted ground.”

“"The Day the Water Died"

http://www.sierraclub.org/tv/episode-exxon.asp

During the sixteen years since the spill, the environment in Prince William Sound has yet to recover. The strongest evidence is that the herring fishery, Cordova's most profitable fish stock, has been eliminated from the sound. Marine biologist and Cordova resident, Riki Ott, tells us how that fact that the herring hasn't returned points to the fact that the Sound is still toxic.
last edited: 3/10/06 9:08:52 PM”

“

Part of the oil from the North Slope spill surfaced above the ice in this photo from March 2, when the spill was discovered. Most of the spill was under the ice, covering two acres
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11743346/

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - An estimated 201,000 to 267,000 gallons of crude oil spilled in the North Slope pipeline leak discovered March 2, state officials announced Friday.

Through Friday morning, crews had recovered just 52,920 gallons of mixed snow and oil.
last edited: 3/10/06 9:37:41 PM”

“That amount of recovered oil is enough to melt another half glacier. Go grease monkeys.”

“ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Britain’s BP PLC is closing 12 oil wells on Alaska’s North Slope as a precaution after whistleblowers alleged more than 50 were leaking.

The wells were in the process of being shut down Tuesday, BP spokesman Darren Beaudo said.

The action came after workers told the Financial Times of London about the leaks, according to the newspaper, which first reported the shutdowns on its Web site.

Most of the shuttered wells were in Prudhoe Bay, Beaudo told The Associated Press.

The shutdowns come a month after BP confirmed it had received a subpoena from a U.S. grand jury investigating a massive oil leak in Alaska last year.

BP blamed the March 2005 incident at Prudhoe Bay, the largest-ever spill in Alaska’s North Slope region, on a small hole caused by corrosion in a pipeline. Up to 267,000 gallons were believed to have spilled onto the frozen ground about 250 miles above the Arctic Circle.”

“Good to know.”

“Oh, lovely.

On flipside, at least the opposite coast, thanks to all the c--p going on the middle east, politicians have started earnestly looking at reestablishing oil platforms off the coast of Florida.”

“I love it, rather than seriously persuing alternatives the answer seems to be drill for more oil.”

“Way over a 100k barrels spilled thru a "tiny" hole? Tiny? Either it ain' tiny or they ain't watching it close. Either way, its bad news. Upside, maybe now we can quit arguing about drilling ANWR. How many days till Nov 08?”

“WASHINGTON - President Bush on Tuesday lifted the drilling ban for Alaska’s Bristol Bay, clearing the way for the Interior Department to open the fish-rich waters to oil and natural gas development.

Alaska officials as well as some local communities had asked for the ban to be lifted, but environmentalists and some fishermen have warned against drilling in the bay, which is the gateway for the largest wild salmon runs in the world as well as a major source for crab and cod.

"Bristol Bay is one the most important fisheries in America and in the world," Sierra Club director Carl Pope said in a statement. "It's incredibly reckless to risk such an outstanding natural resource just to satisfy Big Oil."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16545911/”

“Amen.”

“has the lawsuit been filed yet?”