Thawing Tundra blocks Oil Exploration

[GreenGreenLimaBean]

Some good and some bad news here. The good news is this will make
it harder for ANWR to be opened up. The bad news, Global Warming is
worse than previously reported, and Big Oil is changing the rules
in midstream.


WASHINGTON -- Global warming, which most climate experts blame mainly on large-scale burning of oil and other fossil fuels, may be interfering with efforts in Alaska to discover yet more oil.

The U.S. Department of Energy plans to help oil companies and Alaska officials find a way around the problem.

A state of Alaska rule says heavy exploration equipment can be used on fragile tundra only when the ground is frozen to 12 inches deep and covered by at least 6 inches of snow.
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see:
<http://www.statesman.com/asection/content/auto/epaper/editions/wednesday/news_f3e1d7a9518db007008d.html>

[Submariner]

1. I monitor the fish & wildlife/ecology Listservers

and the latest discussions center around how the radically changing weather patterns across Alaska are changing the migration and feeding habits, the periodicity of calving and spawning populations of many species, and species like the polar bear are suffering. The brown bear are coming out of hibernation earlier and meet the salmon that arrive earlier, but in smaller numbers. The Yukon River has been experiencing some salmon die offs from elevated water temps.

Murkowski has just made some interagency power-play moves trying to de-fang the Alaska Dept of Fish & Game, but those people are pretty dedicated scientists who will probably not take that lightly. I expect development projects will still receive vigorous scrutiny. But you’re right, Big Oil will do anything to maintain their greedy sumbitch image.