Democrats on ANWR

Although a majority of the House and Senate have traditionally supported exploration of the 10-02 Area of ANWR it has been the Democrats who have always made up a majority of the nay-sayers.

Those opposed have often taken the view followed by the radical environmental movement that ANWR is a pristine wilderness not ever to be touched by humankind.

They commonly state that there is scant oil deposits to recover and that there would be irreparable damage done to the Porcupine Caribou Herd if development were allowed. The common warning, “you can't drill yourself out of dependence” is given by those less convinced by the caribou armageddon claim. Instead many Democratic candidates reviewed below say turning to alternative fuels, and renewable resources is the answer. Seeing the political tables turn in Congress this year will undoubtedly help their cause. It is hoped, however, that candidates whatever their persuasion, would look at the facts, and present the facts, basing their arguments on realities of what we consume and use today, and what energy sources actually are capable of producing.

Without further ado here is a review of the Democratic lineup on ANWR:

Sen. Joe Biden ( Delaware ) Senator Biden has been a staunch foe of ANWR. He has consistently voted, during his 34 years in office, against exploration in the 10-02 Area. Despite this he states his number one concern as president would be to solve the energy crisis. Other than being a strong supporter of bio-fuels and advocate to mandate a minimum 40 mpg flex-fuel cars, Biden does not state exactly how he would tackle his number one priority of energy, nor has he ever during his many years voting against the ANWR issue. Biden often combines his Foreign Relations chairmanship with the environment issue claiming that ignoring climate change will result in situations that could be touchstones for “new wars”. He has also voted against decreasing taxes on oil and gas exploration. Biden has never visited ANWR, but has visited Prudhoe Bay and traveled in Alaska with the National Guard. For more information on Sen. Biden's energy views visit: http://www.joebiden.com/assets/pdfs/energy_plan.pdf