Why do republicans want to drill in Alaska?
Well for one, there is enough land in the state that it would not have that big of an environmental impact. The coastal plan cover a total of 1.5 million acres along Alaska’s northern slope and a few oilrigs would be virtually insignificant for wildlife. There is also an estimation of 10.3 billion barrels of oil beneath Alaska’s frozen bare ground. These two reasons have been the platform for many Republicans running for public office. Who doesn't want to hear that cheap gas could be drilled right here in America? It obviously sounds like a win-win to voters who have voted in a majority of Republicans in both the House and Senate. Among one of those newly elected officials is Lisa Murkowski, a senate representative for the state of Alaska. Murkowski, a member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, will now be the chairman of the group as the Senior Republican. As the head of the committee she will support drilling in her state and there would be no surprise if she even wrote a bill. On top of the new leadership within the congress, Shell has been very vocal about their intentions to start drilling in Alaska. It is almost certain that they will be dishing out money through their lobbyists to bring any drilling bill to the top of the docket. The only thing in the congress’ way is the pen on Obama’s desk that is eager to knock down almost any domestic drilling bill to reinforce his ban on Alaskan exploration. It would be almost impossible to Senate republicans to override that veto due to their 12-seat shortage of a supermajority.
Well for one, there is enough land in the state that it would not have that big of an environmental impact. The coastal plan cover a total of 1.5 million acres along Alaska’s northern slope and a few oilrigs would be virtually insignificant for wildlife. There is also an estimation of 10.3 billion barrels of oil beneath Alaska’s frozen bare ground. These two reasons have been the platform for many Republicans running for public office. Who doesn't want to hear that cheap gas could be drilled right here in America? It obviously sounds like a win-win to voters who have voted in a majority of Republicans in both the House and Senate. Among one of those newly elected officials is Lisa Murkowski, a senate representative for the state of Alaska. Murkowski, a member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, will now be the chairman of the group as the Senior Republican. As the head of the committee she will support drilling in her state and there would be no surprise if she even wrote a bill. On top of the new leadership within the congress, Shell has been very vocal about their intentions to start drilling in Alaska. It is almost certain that they will be dishing out money through their lobbyists to bring any drilling bill to the top of the docket. The only thing in the congress’ way is the pen on Obama’s desk that is eager to knock down almost any domestic drilling bill to reinforce his ban on Alaskan exploration. It would be almost impossible to Senate republicans to override that veto due to their 12-seat shortage of a supermajority.