EDITORIAL – Save a seal, club the president

The Associated Press reported today that President Bush is considering lifting the ban on… The Associated Press reported today that President Bush is considering lifting the ban on oil and gas drilling in Bristol Bay, Alaska. This pristine wilderness is home to endangered whales and sea lions and the world’s largest sockeye salmon run.

Drilling in Bristol Bay ended about 17 years ago in the wake of the Exxon Valdez oil spill that coated Prince William Sound in 11 million gallons of crude oil.

With the likelihood of U.S. influence in the Middle East diminishing with each passing day, it’s not surprising that Bush is looking for alternative ways of getting oil. What makes this proposal so absurd, among other reasons, is that the area is estimated to have about 200 million barrels of crude oil in it.

Sure that sounds like a lot, until you consider that this is the amount the United States imports every 16 days. Yes, that’s days. It seems like such a huge waste of time and money for something that poses potential danger for endangered species of arctic wildlife. Maybe the president thinks 16 days’ worth of oil is worth potentially destroying an extremely valuable ecosystem.

And the fact that 200 million barrels will only sustain us for 16 days makes it clear to us that we are using way too much oil. Bush’s vested interest in oil companies has meant that we haven’t searched for a substitute for oil, and the United States probably won’t as long as he’s in office. When you start looking to areas like Bristol Bay to find more oil, isn’t it clear that we need to start exploring alternatives?

The Minerals Management Service, part of the Interior Department, said in August that reopening the area to drilling would mean $7.7 billion in oil and gas production and up to 11,500 new jobs, according to the AP.

Hopefully Bush won’t try to pass this decision off as an economic strategy for making money and creating jobs, but if he does, we will remind him that the same can be true for developing an alternative energy industry in the United States. Isn’t it time to kick big oil out of the bed and make an investment in the future?

The oil will run out. We can either be at the forefront of developing a new way to keep us moving or we’ll find ourselves left in the dust by progressive countries that have already recognized the looming problems of a diminishing oil supply.

We have faith that Congress will stop this proposal from being realized. However, we hope that the president comes to the conclusion that this is just a bad idea before this turns into a drawn-out, political battle.