Okay, I have to admit - I'm ambivalent about ANWR opposition [View All]

[liberalpragmatist]

Please don't flame me. I want to get some honest answers and some feedback on this. Don't try to group me with environmental apologists, b/c I consider myself an environmentalist especially on issues like clean air, clean water, endangered species, etc.

However, I have to admit that while I am in favor of environmental conservation, I do think that conservation needs to be balanced with the needs of local economies, which is different from selling out to major corporations.

Now, I realize that ANWR largely falls under the latter - it's major oil companies that are trying to drill. I don't want to see ANWR drilled, but at the same time I wonder about the economic needs of local residents.

Without a doubt, what has hurt Democrats in many Western states is the feeling that Democrats "sell out" the economic needs of the people in favor of "big government," bureaucratic regulation of what they see as their land. This is a larger issue that ANWR falls under. How do we balance a genuine concern for conservation with the economic needs of the people who live there?

When it comes to ANWR I know that Alaskans are overwhelmingly in favor of drilling in ANWR. I have a couple friends from Alaska - one's a hardcore Republican, the other a Democrat. Both, however, are strongly for drilling and take the suggestion that they don't care for the environment badly. They're both very outdoorsy-types and say they favor conservation but feel that ANWR needs to be drilled for the economic needs of the state.

How valid a concern is this? Will ANWR if drilled really provide measurable economic benefits to Alaska residents? I'll admit this is the main concern I have with blocking ANWR, not the need for more oil - if that's the concern we need to be pushing for renewable energy. I want to see the land protected and I certainly don't want to see the local flora and fauna killed off, but if it can be done with minimal damage to the environment and does boost the Alaska economy and provide jobs to families I *might* be able to support it.

On a somewhat different note, could ANWR be made into a national park? Why hasn't this been considered b/c it might also boost the local economy.