Posted on 02/06/2014 10:15:38 AM PST by thackney
...began my professional career in atmospheric science on the icy shores of the Chukchi Sea — 160 miles above the Arctic Circle. I was hired by the RCA Service Co. to be a civilian weather observer at a lonely Air Force base in Cape Lisburne, Alaska.
...I long to see this truly wild and wonderful state continue to prosper as not just a terrific employment or tourist destination, but as an even bigger energy lifeline to the lower 48, as well. Alaska’s frozen frontier of spectacular natural beauty is also home to copious energy reserves. Americans should enjoy the grand nature of Alaska, while also benefiting from its bountiful resources.
Over the years, a successful balance between energy needs and a clean environment has been demonstrated, thanks to phenomenal advances in natural-resource extraction and contaminant-control technologies.
Yet, activist environmentalists and activist courts seem obstinate when it comes to dealing with experienced energy developers, like Royal Dutch Shell. Shell was planning to continue conducting exploratory drilling in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska’s northwest coast later this year. However, the company has postponed its plans because of a decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. According to Shell’s Chief Executive Ben van Beurden in a conference call with investors on Jan. 30 (published in Oil & Gas Journal), “[W]e are frustrated by the recent decision by the [court] in what is a six-year-old lawsuit against the government … . The obstacles that were introduced by that decision simply make it impossible to justify the commitments of cost, equipment and people that are needed to drill safely in Alaska this year.”
Sen. Mark Begich, Alaska Democrat, said of the decision, “It is simply unacceptable that judicial overreach is getting in the way of letting Alaskans develop our own natural resources.”
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
We will see more and more of this type thing as the Feds tighten their grip. Why is this Senator surprised?
Alaska's Resources will be developed eventually; it's not like there going anywhere.
Even funnier, he is not talking about Alaskans, but a Dutch company (hiring mostly Americans, granted) developing Federal Resources in offshore waters.
Begich is NOT history. Sarah could settle it. The GOP doesn’t really want it.
The feds/Obama opened the Chukchi to drilling and Shell drilled up there in the 2012 season. They damaged both of their drill ships and had to send them back to Korea for repair so they couldn't drill up there in the 2013 season, but were supposed to return in 2014.
In the meantime the enviros sued the Dept of Interior because, supposedly, Interior had underestimated the amount oil that could/would be produced there, which means Interior underestimated the impact. A couple of weeks ago the 9th circuit ruled for the enviros. Which means that Interior and Shell would have to go back through the permitting process.
Interior estimated a billion barrels but who actually knows?
This is why the next administration needs to be Republican. That POTUS will be sitting on the biggest economic expansion in US history. It will be like the Golden Era before progressivism.
You cannot keep a $15 trillion economy down and, by simply dismantling the regulatory regime of Obama, you will release all that potential energy that has built up in the economy. Interest rates will rise, but I bet you’ll see sustained real growth of 5%+.
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