Tonight, 9/24, CNBC airs "The Hunt for Black Gold," which is to include an interview with Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. (scheduled to repeat 9/28)
Energy security is Gov. Palin's signature issue, backed by years of close-up experience. It may be the only subject on which there can be robust debate without its being characterized as taking unfair advantage of her, and thus a rare opportunity for the public to evaluate her approach to governing, her concern for vulnerable people, and her handling of scientific evidence.
But statements concerning the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in the August 29 CNBC interview contradict research by the Congressional Research Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey Biological Science Report, and others. Palin appears either to continue the spin, deception, and disregard for scientific evidence we have seen during the past 8 years, or to reveal a troubling unawareness of fact.
Palin told Maria Bartiromo in "Closing Bell," "WELL, ANWR AT THAT POINT IT'S ABOUT 2,000 ACRES THAT IS BEING ASKED TO BE LOOKED AT AND TO BE EXPLORED AND TO BE PRODUCED. 2,000 ACRES OUT OF 20 MILLION ACRES. THAT FOOTPRINT, IT'S ABOUT THE SIZE OF L.A.X. OR ONE OF THE LARGER AIRPORTS ACROSS THE NATION. AND THAT SHOULD ALLOW SOME PERSPECTIVE THERE ALSO."
http://www.cnbc.com/id/26462569/site/14081545/
Deceptively, the "2,000-acre footprint" counts only those areas where some of the infrastructure actually touches the ground. Further, the "footprint" must spread across the plain since oil is not located in one large pool as in Prudhoe Bay. The Congressional Research Service reports: "Even if the current world record [for lateral drilling] (7 miles) were matched, only about 11% of the 1002 area [Coastal Plain area] could be accessed from a single compact 2,000-acre facility."http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/80677.pdf
This cynically misleading claim is posted on the Bush Administration's Interior Department site, labeled as "Environmentally Responsible Energy Production in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)." The U.S. Fish & Wildlife/Alaska online site has been labeled "This is an Archived File," and a link that states "For more recent information click here" takes the user from the Fish & Wildlife/Alaska site to Interior's misleading statements.
http://www.doi.gov/initiatives/energy_new.html
(Interior also claims: "In 1980, President Carter and Congress set aside 1.5 million acres of ANWR's Northern Coastal Plain for potential oil development." But there was no Congressional decision on the use of this area other than to protect it from any activity not compatible with its purpose without further legislation by Congress.. ANWR's purpose, the Congressional Research Service reports: "Under ANILCA [Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act] one of the purposes of ANWR is to 'conserve fish and wildlife populations and habitats in their natural diversity....' The other three purposes cite fish and wildlife treaty obligations, subsistence use, and maintenance of water quality and quantity..")
http://ncseonline.org/NLE/CRSreports/Biodiversity/biodv-14.cfm?&CFID=4082940&CFTOKEN=84346858#Refuge%20Purposes:%20Plants%20and%20Animals
Missing from the interview is any discussion of the impact of exploration itself. The whole 1002 area would need to be explored, not just an airport-sized "2,000 acres." Former Director of the Fish & Wildlife Service Jamie Rappaport Clark testified before Congress as to the impact of exploration:
"Modern petroleum exploration employs fleets of large vehicles that crisscross the frozen tundra, following a predetermined grid pattern. At frequent intervals, equipment on specially designed and extremely heavy vehicles is used to send shock waves through the ground so that monitoring devices can detect echoes that pinpoint underground oil and gas reserves. Noise from vehicles and seismic vibrations passing too closely can disturb denning polar bears, causing den abandonment and loss of cubs. Modern 3-D seismic exploration now uses grid lines that are often no more than 300 to 400 yards apart." [more below]
Also absent from the interview is any mention of the most vulnerable of all, the indigenous Gwich'in Nation, who rely for subsistence and cultural identity upon the Porcupine caribou herd -- the spectacularly migrating herd that depends upon the Coastal Plain for calving, and that national studies project to be negatively impacted by development.
International law requires the United States to protect the cultures, subsistence, and ways of life of indigenous peoples; and the Gwich'in have appealed to and are supported by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.
Similarly, there is no mention of the U S agreement with Canada "On the Conservation of the Porcupine Caribou Herd."
http://www.lexum.umontreal.ca/ca_us/en/cts.1987.31.en.html
Governor Palin has posited her understanding and competence in energy security as evidence that she is ready to assume the presidency, or will be ready January 20. If Palin wishes to be evaluated on the basis of her judgments on ANWR, the verdict is troubling indeed.
Finally, her reliance on more oil as a key transition strategy raises the question: Does Governor Palin have a grasp of current technology and energy efficiency -- in short, the vision -- to help us transition swiftly from our dangerous dependency on oil? Fareed Zakaria has written, citing the Pentagon-tasked Winning the Oil Endgame: "We don't need a Manhattan Project to find our way out of our current energy trap. The technologies already exist. But what we're searching for is perhaps even harder -- political leadership and vision."
http://fareedzakaria.com/ARTICLES/newsweek/082905.html
In the following post is the online transcript of the Bartiromo interview, interpolated with research findings that contradict or question Gov. Palin's statements.
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