GOP House Candidate to Tour ANWR
By BrianFaughnan Posted in Energy — Comments (2) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Polls show support for expanded drilling here in the U.S. on the upswing -- including in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Some Americans however, remain resistant to drilling because they believe it will mar the unspoiled beauty of the Refuge. To help highlight the fact that the ANWR's Coastal Plain is... ugly, Congressional candidate Craig Williams is taking a trip to the site of the proposed drilling:
As fuel prices continue to dominate the political landscape this election season, Republican 7th Congressional District candidate W. Craig Williams announced Wednesday he will be heading to Alaska July 13 to investigate opening up drilling for oil in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge, or ANWR.
Williams, a Concord attorney, discussed his upcoming trip and "Bridge to the Future" domestic-energy plan at the Liberty gas station on Burmont Road, an apropos venue where one gallon of regular unleaded gasoline costs $4.15.
That plan includes exploring the availability of oil in the coastal shelf, oil shale in the Rocky Mountains, and building new refineries, as well as investing in nuclear power plants, using new clean-burning coal technologies, increasing conservation and funding renewable energy research.
Why aren't more federal candidates traveling to the Coastal Plain to show Americans what we're protecting when we shell out more than $4.00 per gallon at the pump?
bought today for travel on July 12th is $1538 rt from Seattle to Deadhorse/Prudhoe Bay, the closest commercial airport. It is a seven and a half hour flight including the plane change in Anchorage, about five and a half hours actual flying time in a B737. The ANC to Deadhorse leg would be in a combination cargo-passenger 737, so forget first class.
Once you got to Deadhorse, you'd have to arrange for a charter flight to ANWR and you'd need camping gear since there are no accommodations. If you're important enough, you might be able to stay in oil company or contractor quarters in Deadhorse and fly out to ANWR each day. You'd fly in a small, propeller driven plane, probably a Cessna 207, and land either on a gravel strip or a gravel bar in a river. Bring lots of mosquito repellant this time of year; 24 hour Off lasts about 24 minutes. I don't know the cost of the charter, but $500 or more would be ballpark. Your cell phone won't work, so you'll need to get a sat phone if you need to stay in touch. You'll also need warm clothes; the highs are in the forties and the lows around freezing this time of year, but it is light 24 hours a day right now.
In Vino Veritas
Don't you know how much gas it would take to go all the way to ANWAR? It would cost at least 18 billion dollars!
Don't be silly.
Jim Tomasik