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NFC: Re: artic drilling....the no opinion



Drill in the Middle East or drill in Alaska.  The earth will be drilled one
way or another.  Drilling here takes money out of the pockets of our
enemies.  I say let 'em drill, but keep an eye on them while they do it and
don't let them make great disruptions to the surface while they are doing
it.

My $0.02.  I'll be writing letters in support of George Dubya's plan.  I
recognize my opinion is probably in the minority on this mailing list but
hoping that the few of you who feel as I do will feel comfortable in
expressing their own values when you are called upon to do so.

Chris Hedemark - Hillsborough, NC
http://yonderway.com
----- Original Message -----
From: <robertrice at juno_com>
To: <nfc at actwin_com>
Sent: Tuesday, January 09, 2001 9:47 PM
Subject: NFC: artic drilling....the no opinion


> Dear Friends this is one email petition that may actually accomplish
> something, but time is of the essence!
> Your signature at the bottom of this letter to
> President Clinton, will show your support
> for protecting The Arctic Wilderness and
> all the wildlife therein from Oil companies.
> by having one of president Clinton's lasts acts in
> office to declare this area a National Monument.
> PLEASE ADD YOUR NAME AT THE BOTTOM OF THE LIST.
> Copy and paste the entire letter and list in to a
> new message and e-mail it to all your friends.
>
> If you are the 20th to sign, Please e-mail this to:
> president at whitehouse_gov
>
>
>
>
> Make This Natural Treasure a National Monument
> http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/29/opinion/29JIM.html
>
> December 29, 2000
>
> By JIMMY CARTER
> ATLANTA - Rosalynn and I always look for opportunities
> to visit parks
> and wildlife areas in our travels. But nothing matches
> the
> spectacle of wildlife we found on the coastal plain of
> America's
> Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. To the
> north lay the
> Arctic Ocean; to the south, rolling foothills rose
> toward the
> glaciated peaks of the Brooks Range. At our feet was a
> mat of low
> tundra plant life, bursting with new growth, perched
> atop the
> permafrost.
>
> As we watched, 80,000 caribou surged across the vast
> expanse
> around us. Called by instinct older than history, this
> Porcupine
> (River) caribou herd was in the midst of its annual
> migration. To
> witness this vast sea of caribou in an uncorrupted
> wilderness home,
> and the wolves, ptarmigan, grizzlies, polar bears,
> musk oxen and
> millions of migratory birds, was a profoundly humbling
> experience.
> We were reminded of our human dependence on the
> natural world.
>
> Sadly, we were also forced to imagine what we might
> see if the
> caribou were replaced by smoke-belching oil rigs,
> highways and a
> pipeline that would destroy forever the plain's
> delicate and
> precious ecosystem.
>
> Unfortunately, that scenario is far from imaginary.
> The reason the
> Alaskan coastal plain is home today to a pageant of
> wildlife is
> that there have been both Republican and Democratic
> presidents who
> cared about the environment. In 1960 President Dwight
> D. Eisenhower
> designated the coastal plain as part of a national
> wildlife refuge.
> Twenty years later, I signed legislation expanding the
> protected
> area to 18 million acres.
>
> I listened to scientists who emphasized that the
> coastal plain is
> the ecological heart and soul of this, our greatest
> wildlife
> sanctuary. And I decided we should do everything
> possible to
> protect it and the stunning wildlife that it shelters.
> At my
> urging, the House twice voted to dedicate the coastal
> plain as
> statutorily protected wilderness.
>
> Then, even more than today, much attention was
> focused on high
> energy prices; oil companies  playing on Americans'
> fears  sought
> the right to drill in protected areas. While the House
> held firm,
> the Senate forced a compromise, without ever putting
> the fate of
> the refuge to a vote. Thus, the law I signed 20 years
> ago did not
> permanently protect this Arctic wilderness. It did,
> however, block
> any oil company drilling until Congress votes
> otherwise. That is
> where the issue stands today.
>
> The fate of the Arctic coastal plain was a subject of
> intense
> debate in the presidential campaign. But as the 106th
> Congress
> adjourned, a bill to safeguard the coastal plain by
> designating it
> as wilderness was blocked by parochial opposition from
> Alaska's
> congressional delegation. And there is little doubt
> that
> President-elect George W. Bush and Vice President-
> elect Dick
> Cheney will press Congress to open this area to oil
> companies. As
> oil industry veterans, they have unquestioning faith
> that drilling
> would have little impact.
>
> The simple fact is, drilling is inherently
> incompatible with
> wilderness. The roar alone of road-building, trucks,
> drilling and
> generators would pollute the wild music of the Arctic
> and be as
> out of place there as it would be in the heart of
> Yellowstone or
> the Grand Canyon.
>
> Some 95 percent of Alaska's oil-rich North Slope
> lands are already
> available for exploration or development. Our nation
> must choose
> what to do with the last 5 percent. Oil drilling or
> wilderness. We
> cannot have it both ways.
>
> I am for the wilderness. That is why I urge President
> Clinton, who
> has been a champion for America's environment, to
> proclaim the
> coastal plain as a new Arctic Wildlife National
> Monument before he
> leaves office. It is vital to do so now, as the Arctic
> is
> threatened as never before.
>
> National monuments are a unique form of recognition
> that
> presidents have used for nearly a century to single
> out the finest
> examples of America's natural heritage. Of course,
> Congress can
> undo a presidentially proclaimed monument. But that
> has never been
> done.
>
> Teddy Roosevelt pioneered bold presidential action
> for
> conservation. He used the Antiquities Act to protect
> the Grand
> Canyon, urging Americans: "Leave it as it is. The ages
> have been at
> work on it, and man can only mar it. What you can do
> is keep it for
> your children, your children's children and for all
> who come after
> you."
>
> Now it is President Clinton's turn. With the Arctic
> coastal plain
> facing very real peril, it is time for presidential
> foresight once
> again.
>
> Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States,
> is chairman
> of the Carter Center in Atlanta.
>
>
>




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