Offshore oil and gas drilling in Alaskan Waters.

JouteiMike

I hate hearing about this kind of stuff.

The federal Minerals Management Service is proposing that three wildlife-rich Alaskan marine areas be opened up to oil and gas drilling:

Bristol Bay is one of the most productive marine ecosystems in the world. It is home to the largest wild sockeye salmon runs in the world; important nursery grounds for red king crab and Pacific halibut; staging areas and wintering grounds for tens of millions of seabirds; and a feeding ground and migration corridor for marine mammals, including five endangered species.

The Chukchi Sea has polar bears, walruses, three species of ice seals, beluga whales, gray whales and endangered bowhead whales, and is a staging and molting ground for migratory birds.

The Beaufort Sea is home to walruses, seals, migratory birds and endangered bowhead whales. Its coast has the largest concentration of female polar bear denning areas in North America. This sea already has 181 active leases.

Offshore drilling would have many negative impacts, including onshore development, pollution, increased shipping traffic, noise disturbance and potential oil spills with disastrous consequences.

These marine ecosystems should never be developed for oil and gas production. Because of its high ecological value, Bristol Bay has been protected from offshore energy development for many years. In the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, climate change is causing severe changes in those arctic waters, resulting in loss of habitat for polar bears, walruses and seals. Oil and gas drilling would further exacerbate the threats to these already imperiled species.

What are your opinions on these kinds of issues?

I know us humans rely a lot on gas and oil as a whole, (certain individuals do fine with limited supply). But to me humans just act like it's THEIR planet, they can take whatever they want from it and not even think twice about what it effects.

joeshmoe

Yes, we need but at the same time we dont need kill of fish like what exon did.

fish_4_all

I am really surprised that someone isn't willing to take the time and a little extra money to drill sideways into these reserves instead of taking a chance on a massive spill on the water. They have the technology, and a platform over water in that area is just asking for a major fall like the ones in the Gulf of Mexico suffered from Katrina.

My only support would be the fact I have never heard of an oil rig spilling oil except for the one platform that sank from hitting a pocket of gas. Then it was small compared even to the smallest spills from oil tankers.

I just hope that if they ever decide to drill for methane they have much better technology than I am aware of them having. Now that stuff is scary on too many levels.

bettababy

Something important to remember here... we're talking about governments who's number one priority is money, over all else. How do we best get through to THEM... especially "foreign governments" who don't seem to recognize or care about the animals and environments they are harming all in the name of money.

fish_4_all

That's easy, give them another way to make enough money to replace what they make from oil. The Iraqi government is asking the same question and the Us is getting them set up to do actually that. A commerce of trade that will allow them to lower oil prices and yet be able to run the country and their military. After all to defeat terroism we are going to have to take away their money source and that is OIL.

The replacement of 90% of all vehicles with alternative fuel vehicles is also a really good start. After all we can grow enough corn and grain to supply half the world with E80-Ethanol, that's without dedicating more land to farming but funding the farmers that only use a small % of their land to grow it.

bettababy

Ok, with that in mind... why hasn't something been proposed already? If it has, what is the response? It seems to me that we, here on this board, can offer the solutions, but getting these solutions heard by the right people is still an issue. If it were a "simple fix" where everyone could win, I would think that something would already have been enacted to begin the process???

fish_4_all

I think it already has but the government isn't saying much about it. Anyway I hope there has been something done. I know the Global Warming move has pushed a lot recently and they are trying to get more autos burning clean fuel but it takes time. I know the process has started here as we are getting a brand new Bio-Diesel plant in the next year or so so I know they they are being built. There is also a move to organic lubricants that re processed out of trees to replce the dendance on oil completely. Is just a matter of getting the vehicles out there insuch a demand that they are affo4rdable compared to the conventional ICE. Have to remeber to that the president and I thinkmanyother governments around the world have vested interests in oil and huge economical interests. Gotta give it time but now that Global Warming is such a hot issue there will be a lot of changes but slowly over the next 15 years. I have seen goals tohave 75% of all vehicles for sale converted over to bio-diesel within 10 years but that will have to been seen before I believe it.

usmc121581

But then you have to think about the poor countries that can't afford to get stuff that is cleaner to use.

Melissa

i do belive that there are things in the works for being done to help. but it does take time. and it will probably take even more time before real results are seen. it is just sad though how people caould not care about thier surrounding and impact on the environment just to make money. something should have been done along time ago.

usmc121581

I think the damage has been done. I believe it so bad theres basically nothing that can be done. The damage is to widespread now.