http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.asp?Page=/Nation/archive/200801/NAT2008012 1a.html Bill Delays Oil Exploration for Polar Bear Listing
By Monisha Bansal CNSNews.com Staff Writer January 21, 2008 (CNSNews.com) - Environmentalists welcomed a bill introduced by a House Democrat last week that would delay the sale of land in Alaska for oil exploration. Environmentalists believe the Interior Department wants to avoid classifying the polar bear as an endangered species until the land -- which is polar bear habitat -- is sold. "The only thing keeping pace with the melting of the sea ice is the breakneck speed with which the Department of the Interior is rushing to approve oil and gas activities in polar bear habitat," said Kassie Siegel, director of the Center for Biological Diversity's Climate, Air and Energy Program, a liberal organization. "This oil and gas sale must not proceed, because the impacts to polar bears have not been considered," Siegel said. Biological Diversity is one of several environmental groups that has sued the Department of Interior for failing to meet itsdeadline <http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.asp?Page=/Nation/archive/200801/NAT200801 09a.html> for classifying the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act by Jan. 9, 2008. If the polar bear is not listed as an endangered species, Siegel said her group will take the government to court. Rep. Ed Markey, chairman of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, last Thursday introduced a bill <http://globalwarming.house.gov/tools/assets/files/0318.pdf> that would require the Interior Department to delay the sale of oil drilling rights in the Chukchi Sea (Sale 193) -- currently scheduled for Feb. 6 -- until it makes a decision on the polar bear. <http://www.cnsnews.com/cns/photo/2008/011808Chukchi.jpg> Map of Chukchi Sea Lease According to Randall Luthi, director of the Minerals Management Service, "the Chukchi Sea Planning Area could hold 15 billion barrels of oil and 76 trillion cubic feet of natural gas ... thus providing potentially significant future production of oil and gas from Northern Alaska." "Sale 193 was originally scheduled for June 2007, but we delayed the sale until February 2008 to provide sufficient time to complete the environmental analyses," he said in his testimony for the select committee on Thursday. Dale Hall, director of the Fish and Wildlife Service, added that "a review of various factors led to a determination that these activities do not threaten polar bears throughout all or a significant portion of its range." "It's just absurd," countered Siegel. "There is a 40 percent chance of an oil spill. That's incredible. That's like saying you have a 40 percent chance of being hit by a bus, you would consider that a really big problem, and you would do something about it. "By holding up the polar bear finding just a little bit, they're going ahead with this sale before looking at the impacts on polar bears," she told Cybercast News Service. Siegel noted that Luthi said they would not look at the impacts before approving development if the sale occurs before a decision on whether to list the polar bear. But while Siegel said she was "excited to hear about the new legislation," Myron Ebell, director of energy and global warming policy at the conservative Competitive Enterprise Institute, told Cybercast News Service, "I think that Rep. Markey's bill is a short-sighted attempt to block domestic energy production by using unsubstantiated claims about the polar bear. "Rep. Markey and too many other members of Congress are willing to use any tools available to stop oil production in this country," he said. "Then they complain about high gasoline prices and importing oil from countries they don't like." Siegel, however, said it would be many years before oil could be on the market from the Chukchi Sea, so it has little impact on gas prices. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? 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