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ANWR Drilling Leaves America Empty

by Texas Dem. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson - 05/25/06 2:49 PM ET

Every time the price of oil goes up, drilling proponents reflexively propose more drilling in wild places such as the Arctic Refuge.The unique wilderness values of the Arctic Refuge deserve to be protected, not plundered.Allowing drilling and development in the Arctic Refuge would destroy one of kind wilderness yet do virtually nothing to ease our energy problems.

At best oil from the Arctic Refuge would meet America’s energy needs for a few months. Drilling in the Arctic Refuge will not help consumers at the pump. The Bush Administration’s Energy Department’s own figures show that drilling in the Arctic would not lower gas prices by more than about a penny a gallon, 20 years from now.

Instead of fighting over our national parks and wildlife refuges, let’s work together to craft the kind of energy policy the United States really needs – one that truly will enhance our security and independence from foreign oil by tapping into the virtually inexhaustible potential of non-polluting renewable fuels.

We need an energy policy that does more than run on empty; one that puts us on the road to real energy security and benefits all Americans, not just the special interests.