So the Obama administration is going to allow the Alaska wilderness to be destroyed.

[MadHound]

"The president’s preoccupation with the Arctic proposal, even as the nation was still reeling from the BP spill, was the first hint that Shell’s audacious plan to drill in waters previously considered untouchable had gone from improbable to inevitable.

Barring a successful last-minute legal challenge by environmental groups, Shell will begin drilling test wells off the coast of northern Alaska in July, opening a new frontier in domestic oil exploration and accelerating a global rush to tap the untold resources beneath the frozen ocean. "
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/24/science/earth/shell-arctic-ocean-drilling-stands-to-open-new-oil-frontier.html?_r=2&hp=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1337945211-pWSJ+SK3KCVP81hi2MYSVQ

Ready to risk major damage to the environment for what? The entire amount of oil located under Alaska's soil water amounts to (are you ready for this) approximately 45 days worth of oil for the US. We use 20 million barrels of oil each and every day, and the Alaskan reserves amount to approximately 896 million barrels. Dismal math, especially in light of Obama's promise to transform our energy structure.

This isn't a case of Congress playing tricks, this is simply a case of political expediency on the party of Obama. He is willing to sacrifice pristine Alaskan wilderness so that he can say that he is willing to "drill baby, drill."

When we have the inevitable environmental catastrophe, remember why we're there. Political expediency, and 45 days worth of oil.