Bill Hobbs [1] points out this morning that ANWR’s going to be opened anyway.
Alaska Governor Frank H. Murkowski’s office says:
The new areas to be offered for lease, exploration, and development are 670,000 acres of land off the coast of the NPR-A and more than 350,000 acres off the coast of ANWR. Toward that end, I have directed my Commissioner of Natural Resources, Tom Irwin, to open an immediate dialog with the residents of the North Slope. While the US House and Senate remain grid-locked over opening ANWR for oil development, I am not burdened with that process.
Residents of Alaska and the North Slope are unified in their support for the opening of ANWR. Initial contacts with officials of the North Slope have been made. It would be my intention to include the state offshore ANWR tracts in our October 2004 Beaufort Sea Area Wide lease sale.
America should not be held hostage by Middle-East oil imports. Motorists should not have to pay more than $2 for a gallon of gasoline. Alaska oil, Alaska natural gas, can help balance the equation.
About time someone had the testicular fortitude to do this. Bravo.
RTWT at Bill’s place.