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May 16, 2003 Dennis Miller has a very funny stand-up routine being currently run on HBO. In it, he asks, (paraphrased)"What do the Greens intend to DO with nature? Is it just to look at...sort of like porn with leaves?" He also wonders why, out of only 50 states, we've decided to give one--Alaska--to the caribou. We might ask the same question. The so-called "calving grounds" claimed as the reason not to drill in the Alaskan National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR) are, in point of fact, rarely used for that purpose. The reason seems to be that most of that small segment of ANWR is mosquito-infested swamp during that part of the year when caribou calving actually occurs and no self-respecting caribou cow would voluntarily choose such a place to bear her young--unless, of course, forced to (sort of like the proverbial woman having her baby in the back seat of a taxi.) While the caribou's favorite foods, moss and lichens, are in abundance on the tundra, the swarms of huge mosquitos have been known to literally drive large herbivores mad and drain their young of so much blood that they often don't survive. The Sierra Club and Earth First crowd have used deception and misdirection to try and gain public support (successfully, so far) for a total ban on oil and gas drilling in ANWR. This is done by running ads and promos for their stated position which show beautiful, snow-capped mountains, pristine rivers and lakes and fuzzy little arctic foxes and cute caribou calves frolicking in vast fields of wildflowers while huge flocks of geese and other migratory birds soar overhead. The reality of what's actually there is quite different. In the area where oil deposits are believed to be, the ground is flat and, in the short summer, swampy and mosquito-infested beyond any understanding in the "Lower-48." Mountains, streams and lakes aren't even remotely visible from this territory. To understand what the 2000 acres proposed for drilling in ANWR represents, picture a basketball court. The drilling site would be represented by about one square foot in the far, upper left corner. Surely, common sense should tell us that wouldn't even remotely threaten an "ecological disaster" that the eco-freaks are predicting should drilling operations be permitted in ANWR. ------------ Email David Allen Jared: Pappadave@sbcglobal.net Comment on this column in the forum. ------------ |
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