Offshore Drilling Ban to be Lifted by Bush

[BarTopDancer]

Until someone can guarantee that animals, nature and the ecosystem in Alaska will not be harmed by drilling up there I am completely against it.

Polar Bears are close to extinct. They're drowning because the ice is melting.

I don't have an issue with offshore drilling when done correctly and safely. It was done before, the infrastructure is still there. We should use resources we already have and know about before going into new places. Use what we have.

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by BarTopDancer

Until someone can guarantee that animals, nature and the ecosystem in Alaska will not be harmed by drilling up there I am completely against it.

Polar Bears are close to extinct. They're drowning because the ice is melting.

Do you believe that Polar Bears are extinct because of the drilling in Alaska?

The ice is melting because you drove your car to work today.

Sure, it is easier to blame "big anonymous company" for all the world's woes. The reality is that it is often you and me.

Originally Posted by BarTopDancer

I don't have an issue with offshore drilling when done correctly and safely.

Who says it isn't?

[BarTopDancer]

Originally Posted by Kevy Baby

Do you believe that Polar Bears are extinct because of the drilling in Alaska?

The ice is melting because you drove your car to work today.

Sure, it is easier to blame "big anonymous company" for all the world's woes. The reality is that it is often you and me.

I don't think drilling in AK is going to help the situation.

Who says it isn't?

I'm saying I don't have an issue with it. I said that earlier too. Make sure the infrastructure is safe for the environment and go for it.

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by BarTopDancer

I don't think drilling in AK is going to help the situation.

Drilling for oil in Alaska will have a negligible impact on the melting of the Polar Ice Caps.

[BarTopDancer]

Originally Posted by Kevy Baby

Drilling for oil in Alaska will have a negligible impact on the melting of the Polar Ice Caps.

Maybe on the melting. But what about the other damage to the ecosystem?

Sonar confuses dolphins. What are the vibrations from the drilling going to do to the marine life? What will the inevitable pollution from the rigs going to do to the rest of the ecosystem?

We're destroying this planet so we can live. It's quickly becoming a FUBARed situation. We need to use what we have before we throw it away for the latest and greatest. Oh wait. Throwing away for the latest and greatest is the "American Way" these days. Silly me.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by BarTopDancer

Sonar confuses dolphins. What are the vibrations from the drilling going to do to the marine life? What will the inevitable pollution from the rigs going to do to the rest of the ecosystem?

Unless things have changed, I don't believe the proposals for ANWR drilling are offshore. That's why the big supposed disruptions are generally to caribou.

[scaeagles]

Originally Posted by BarTopDancer

Polar Bears are close to extinct. They're drowning because the ice is melting.

Certainly debatable - I can find many references to the contrary.

Polar bears thriving as arctic warms up

In the Davis Strait area, a 140,000-square kilometre region, the polar bear population has grown from 850 in the mid-1980s to 2,100 today.

Much of what I've read on the subject says that counting polar bears is very difficult because of the vastness and unfriendliness of their habitat. It also seems as if it isn't actual numbers that appear to be in decline, but that there is more a sense that they will be in danger.

[BarTopDancer]

Originally Posted by scaeagles

Certainly debatable - I can find many references to the contrary.

Polar bears thriving as arctic warms up

Much of what I've read on the subject says that counting polar bears is very difficult because of the vastness and unfriendliness of their habitat. It also seems as if it isn't actual numbers that appear to be in decline, but that there is more a sense that they will be in danger.

Threatened species - listed in May of 2008 which is a year after your link was published.