Sale of the Wild
Did anyone read the op-ed from Babbitt, "Another Attack on the Arctic," in the NYT last week re: the administration's plans for opening parts of Alaska for oil drilling? Reading it whipped me into a frenzy for the upteenth time. For those who have read it, I suggest that you read the Vanity Fair article "Sale of the Wild," from the Sept. 2003 issue. It is not online; I did give Laura a copy many moons ago. Another poignant article re: this very grave and overlooked issue was in Mother Jones about the same time. Here's the link link(I think).
posted by Anonymous at 10:54 PM
2 Comments:
Babbitt makes an interesting, possibly unintended, point (one that Steph and I do not necessarily agree on). Namely, the issue is not whether to exploit the artic resources. It seems that most people agree they should be exploited in some fashion. In fact, Clinton crafted ways to "appropriately" exploit its resources. The issue, as I understand it, is HOW to exploit the resources. And that is the problem with the W admin. They are not at all concerned with HOW; they just want to go up there and kick ass. In other words, Babbitt takes issue with the manner in which one kicks the ass and not with the agreed upon point that the ass should be kicked.
Please define "people." I, for one, do not agree that this area should be exploited. Here's an idea nobody has thought of before: why not pour some money into things like a public campaign re: reducing the use of oil, car-pooling, buying that hybrid instead of the gigantic SUV that your family doesn't really need, forcing the hand of the Big 3 to actually make more efficient vehicles, reduce reuse recycle. Crazy idea, huh? THEN, if we really do need more oil, we can seriously look at destroying one of the few remaining refuges. By the by, the Vanity Fair article discusses several other non-green moves on the part of the Dept. of Interior. It really is a very interesting read and will piss you off to no end. --Steph
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