From FoxNews: Senate Votes to Open Oil Drilling in ANWR.
A closely divided Senate voted to approve oil drilling in an Alaska wildlife refuge, a major victory for President George W. Bush and a stinging defeat for environmentalists who have fought the idea for decades.By a 51-49 vote, the Senate on Wednesday put a refuge drilling provision in next year's budget, depriving opponents of the chance to use a filibuster to try to block it. Filibusters, which require 60 votes to overcome, have been used to defeat drilling proposals in the past.
"This project will keep our economy growing by creating jobs and ensuring that businesses can expand," Bush said in a statement. "And it will make America less dependent on foreign sources of energy, eventually by up to a million barrels of oil a day."
Environmentalists for years have fought such development, contending it would lead to a spider web of drilling platforms, pipelines and roads that would adversely impact the calving grounds of caribou, polar bears and millions of migratory birds that use the refuge's coastal plain.
Also from FoxNews: Crude Soars Above $57 Amid Supply Fears.
Crude oil futures prices soared above $57 a barrel, a new all-time record, Thursday as OPEC's pledge to increase output failed to assure traders who were worried about tight supply. ...In a monthly report released Thursday, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries warned that economic growth in the United States, China and Japan would push demand for its oil even higher in the second half of this year. It also said it was unclear what impact the resulting price increases could have.
For those not familiar with the tale that inspired the cartoon, you can read it here: The Camel's Nose in the Tent.
UPDATE -- March 21: This cartoon appears in today's Investor's Business Daily.
Posted by Forkum at March 17, 2005 01:21 PM
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