Worthless Frozen Tundra
USF&WS
Kenn Kaufman chimes in on ANWR drilling...
"A congressional delegation led by House Minority Leader John Boehner, from my own state of Ohio, is heading to Alaska within the next few days. They will make a brief visit to the North Slope, including the Arctic Refuge. We would like to hope that our elected representatives would approach this visit with open minds and with an honest desire to learn about the refuge. Unfortunately, Rep. Boehner gave a good indication of his motives during a press conference on July 15: 'We're going to look at this barren, Arctic desert where I'm hoping to see some wildlife. But I understand there's none there."
Later on, Kenn delivers the point...
"If oil drilling comes into this magical place, of course it will have an impact. No matter how much the oil companies try to minimize the effects of their operations, large areas will be destroyed or degraded. And the birds that lived on those areas cannot just move to another spot. It simply doesn’t work that way. The land has only a certain carrying capacity, and the good spots are already taken. Destroy a bird’s habitat and the bird is dead, for all practical purposes, just as if you had shot it."
Link: Keep reading Kenn's excellent article.
And from the pro-drilling camp...
"Suggestions that 10-02 is an area rich in wildlife and abundant vegetation are flat-out wrong, observed Herrera. 'Ten-oh-two is located along the coastal plain, north of the Brooks Mountain Range. It is flat and the actual ground is peat tundra,' said Herrera. 'There are no trees and no permanent wildlife. The caribou do not have regular migratory patterns. They have passed through the area four times in the last ten years. It is rather desolate.'"
Link: Republicans Rediscover ANWR
No permanent wildlife...how clever! And the birds? Don't they have annual migratory patterns? How come every pro-drilling piece that comes out about the ANWR conveniently fails to mention the 195 bird species that use or nest on the coastal plain during the summer months each year?
6 Comments:
Jefferson's political opponents in the Federalist Party argued that the Louisiana purchase was a worthless desert, too. I grew up in that "desert" - Nebraska, and I can tell you a little about how "worthless" and "barren" it is. ;-)
My wife and I love your blog, love all your work, really.
Sooner or later, our energy comes from somewhere. Whether it's a windmill or a solar panel or an oil rig, the potential impact to--for the sake of focus--birds, is possible. We have to ask ourselves a series of questions on the importance of human life in the world. Are birds worth harming for human need? As much as it hurts the conservationist in me, I'd have to say "yes".
Michael,
Taken to its logical conclusion, by slowly destroying the natural world, we're destroying ourselves. It's species suicide.
It doesn't have to be this way.
Mike M.
Only after the last tree has been cut down,
Only after the last river has been poisoned,
Only after the last fish has been caught,
Only then will you find that money cannot be eaten.
- Cree Indian Prophecy
Landscape viewed from a distance without optics might sometimes look lifeless to the average person.
The other day I was scoping a recently created large retention pond. A man walked by and asked if he could take a look. He was absolutely amazed by the little peeps and a dowitcher that were practically invisible to the naked eye. He said that he had walked the path many times in the past and never noticed all the life in the seemingly lifeless mud pit.
I hope the congressmen on this trip have an opportunity to get up close and personal by viewing the wildlife with scopes. Maybe their perception will change as well.
Here's a lighthearted peek into the latest pathetic machinations of the "Straight Talk Express"...
http://rawstory.com//news/2008/McCain_cancels_trip_to_oil_rig_0724.html
The above story can be read by clicking here.
Mike
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