Editorial: Jab to environment

Thursday, March 17, 2005 | 9:07 a.m.

On Wednesday the U.S. Senate voted 51-49 for President Bush's plan to allow drilling for oil on one of this nation's most environmentally sensitive, undisturbed lands -- the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. But there is some hope for opponents of this reckless policy, which would harm the environment by letting oil platforms and other heavy equipment trample on land that is home to caribou, polar bears and other wildlife. Since the vote only was whether to include the drilling provision in the federal budget, if the Republican-led Congress fails to pass a budget this year -- a possibility since it happened last year -- then the drilling provision dies, too.

The reality is that drilling in the Alaskan refuge won't do anything to solve our energy problems today. Senators opposed to the drilling noted that the earliest this oil would be available would be 10 years from now, and even then it would have a negligible impact on our overall oil supply. Even major oil companies are skeptical: Earlier this year they stopped pushing for the legislation to permit drilling because it would be very expensive to do so and the possibility for large discoveries of oil is remote.

Still, don't be surprised to see this Republican president dangle huge subsidies in front of oil companies, trying to entice them to drill in the wildlife refuge. This is the same White House that, rather than promoting sensible conservation policies that would reduce our dependence on oil, has foolishly advocated a venture that would harm one of the last, vast unspoiled places in the United States.