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NFC: Re: political stuff...



Robert,

First off let me say I am *not* offended by the political action alerts.  I
disagree with some of them, sure, and that is all I am trying to vocalize.
Sometimes those who mean well don't think through the consequences of their
actions.  When President Carter advocated the closing of lands in Alaska to
exploratory drilling, he never addressed the issue that somewhere else in
the world we'll have to drill anyway.  It's the "anywhere but here"
syndrome.  Ultimately, Americans *need* oil companies to drill.  Just not
here.  Kind of like when Americans scream for more prisons.  But they don't
want the prisons being built in their own backyards.   They have to go
somewhere.

It's simple logic really.  If you want a better argument *against* drilling
in Alaska, you've got to present (and sell) an alternative location.

As far as parties go, I am "neither" if you believe in the two party system.
I'm a registered card carrying Libertarian.  I believe the Federal
Government is not constitutionally granted the position of guardians of the
environment, and I think they've done a lousy job of it to date.  Under
pressure from the Sierra Club they'll close off trails so that only hikers
are allowed, no motor vehicles.  Veterans who fought for our democracy
sometimes can't get around so well and need a Jeep under their butts to see
the wilderness.  But the Sierra Club has had its way and closed these brave
men out of many beautiful parks (I only became aware of this recently, when
I started trail riding with a disabled vet).  Yet you can go to the Delaware
River along the PA/NJ border and just downstream from Tinicum you can see
the oil barges dumping a couple of hundred gallons of crude into the river
just trying to get unloaded at the refinery.  The EPA calls that "acceptable
spillage" and nothing gets done about it.  That is "real damage" but who is
taking up that cause?  It's happening every day, in your own back yard, but
no one wants to say anything about it.

While we're on the subject of refineries, how about the big above-ground
tanks?  Ever wonder what the flooring material is?  On some of them, it is
topsoil.  No, really.  The oil saturates the topsoil and even though quite a
bit seeps in the idea is that only so much will soak into the ground.  I
used to work at an oil refinery where all the employees drank bottled water,
and you'd see tape X'ing off the water fountains, because of the permanant
damage done to the groundwater.  On a good rainy day, you could see rainbows
in the grass as the oil percolates up to the surface.  I don't see anyone
fighting against that.  Everyone is so quick to shut down the sites that oil
is pumped from (which is futile, really... it has to come from somewhere)
that they never stop to consider where it goes along the way to your car.

Chris Hedemark - Hillsborough, NC
http://yonderway.com
----- Original Message -----
From: <robertrice at juno_com>
To: <nfc at actwin_com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 10, 2001 12:11 AM
Subject: NFC: political stuff...


> Wright and all,
>
> I post things that are conservation oriented  under the assumation that
> most calls to action are not perfect and have some bias. Such was my last
> post where I clearly pointed out that it was the NO opinion to artic
> drilling.
> So given your response would folks like me to abstain from such call to
> action posts as I can not decipher who amongst our list members finds the
> post offenssive. They are simply a call to do something. Perhaps the
> wrong thing , in such cases people should discuss the science as to why
> it is the wrong decision. Folks seem a bit quick to wax on about one
> political party or another but are rather short on facts. I'd personally
> enjoy a discussion on why artic drilling is good or bad, but would find
> any discussion that starts with Dubyah is XY or Z very non productive,
> Politicians come and go and to align yourself with one side or the other
> makes you an idealog not a conservationist in my opinion. It's all about
> the fish.
>
> Robert Rice NFC  President
> Save those Fishes,  Join the Native Fish Conservancy
> http://www.nativefish.org
>




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