3/17/2005

Denver, Colorado

The following is an op ed article written by Colorado Democratic Chair, Pat Waak in response to the vote on 3/16/2005 regarding drilling in ANWR.

Yesterday the U.S. Senate voted 51 to 49 to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil drilling. The battle over drilling in the Arctic Refuge has been ongoing for years and, despite this vote, is far from resolved.

To many Coloradoans Alaska seems very far away. We have seen the pictures and most of us have heard the passionate descriptions of one of the few remaining pristine places in the United States filled with wildlife—the American Serengeti, as some describe it.

In our own backyard there is a similar dispute. The struggle over drilling for oil and gas is part of the continued debate on the Roan Plateau. One of the four areas in the state with the greatest concentration of biodiversity, the Roan Plateau is home to 125 different species of birds.

Whether you see yourself primarily as an environmentalist, an economic realist, or a parent concerned about your children’s future, some fundamental questions lie at the heart of drilling in the Arctic Refuge and on the Roan Plateau. Those questions are about our long-term energy future and the values and heritage we will pass onto future generations.

Nationwide, 53 percent of people polled, according to the Christian Science Monitor, oppose oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Here in Colorado, we passed Amendment 37, requirements for more renewal energy, with a similar 53.6% of the vote.

The issue is long-term energy security according to the Bush-Cheney administration. But real long-term energy security demands that we use the new technologies we have for improving energy conservation while we further develop our capacity for producing renewable energy for the future. That is the only way we will truly reduce our dependence on foreign or domestic oil.  And our children will thank us for staying true to our values and saving the best of our state’s and nation’s natural heritage for them to enjoy and care for long after we’re gone.