This icon is definitely a real eye opener – Representative Don Young-Alaska is talking about the oil in Alaska. He has a bill #6107
up for vote…………and as usual Congress will probably sleep right through it. Of course the environmentalists oppose additional drilling in Alaska even though it has been accomplished without harming anything. Please watch this.
Coast Contact 
It may be just 74 miles of pipeline but drilling in ANWR is not the solution to our energy problems just as not drilling in ANWR is the reason gas prices are over $4 a gallon. There are currently over 1,500 offshore drilling leases sitting idle that the oil companies can drill on any time they want to. The reason they don’t is because of the big tax credits they get for the cost of the lease means they make more money by not drilling.
The real reason is that gas prices are so high is commodities speculators. They were responsible for the last spike over $4 . If you recall once the price of oil peaked the bottom dropped out. Once the traders have squeezed the market for what they can, prices will come down. Not surprisingly the Koch brothers are one of the big players in this market,
In the meantime escalating gas prices are pushing up food prices which is causing real inflation not reflected in the core inflation numbers, which for good reason exclude food and oil because of volatility.
Part of the financial reform bill is intended to address this sort o market manipulation through the Volcker rule, aspects of which have been left up to regulatory bodies to define. One of the issues to be determined is rules re commodity market manipulation. The GOP, naturally wants a hands-off approach which means more oil price spikes.
Congressman Young also talks about coal and natural gas as being the solutions. Coal has its problems and the idea of clean coal’ is a myth that is decades away at best. Natural Gas has its place but once again extraction creates problems. Read about Fracking, especially in densely populated Pennsylvania. It involves pumping known carcinogens into the ground to fracture rock formation to release the gas. The very pro business new governor is trying to hog tie safety inspectors.
Everything comes with a price that may not be apparent at first glance, If drilling in ANWR started tomorrow it would make zero difference as long a it pays oil companies to let existing leases sit idle and oil traders to manipulate the market.
PS – thank you for the link to my website as a voice from the left. The sometimes irritable liberal.