The gang that can’t shoot straight

15 comments June 30th, 2008

The hunt for Osama bin Laden has been STYMIED by the incompetence of the Bush administration.

Oil and gas companies hold leases on 68 million acres of federal land they are not developing

22 comments June 30th, 2008

 

Sixty-eight million acres is a whole lot of territory — more than the size of Illinois and Pennsylvania put together.

It’s also 45 times the size of the area the energy companies want to explore in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in northeastern Alaska.

The question arises: Why don’t the oil and gas companies explore in some of the 68 million acres of federal land on which they hold leases rather than risk environmental damage to ANWR?

The answer: They’re not sure there’s much oil and gas in those 68 million acres, and they don’t want to spend the money finding out.

Another question: If they’re not sure, why have they bothered getting leases?

Answer: Hey, mind your own business.

Yet another question: What’s the Responsible Federal Oil and Gas Lease Act?

Answer: It’s legislation that would forbid the granting of new leases on public land to oil companies that aren’t using the leases they currently have to actually drill for oil. 

The bill came up for a vote in the U.S. House last week and failed. Nearly all the Democrats voted for it, and nearly all the Republicans voted against it.

HERE’s the roll call.