Letter: Alaska oil extraction better late than never

Saturday, Jan. 21, 2006 | 8:25 a.m.

Where do all these "experts" in the petroleum business come from? Regarding Richard J. Mundy's Jan. 19 letter that Alaska is not the key to the nation's energy woes, he is correct. However, that is due to the fact that his he and his ilk have managed to delay any oil extraction from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge now that we are in real trouble. Yes, it will take nearly a decade to get that oil to market, but if we don't start today can you imagine where we'll be then?

Mr. Mundy states that oil companies are under no obligation to ship the oil to the "lower 48 states." Wrong! The government determines where it is able to ship that oil. The process is much more complicated than some people would have you believe. An oil company cannot just decide to ship Alaskan oil anywhere it deems necessary.

As someone who lived in Alaska for 35 years, I wish these people would get their facts straight before sounding off about something they have a very limited knowledge about. Sounds like Mr. Mundy has been reading too much propaganda from the Sierra Club.

Work is being done on alternative fuel sources now. However, it will be decades before any is a feasible alternative to fossil fuels.

Mike Palmer

Las Vegas