Alaska Governor Palin Urges U.S. Senators to Defeat Bill Designating Wildlife Refuge ANWR as Wilderness

November 10, 2007, Juneau, Alaska – Alaska Governor Sarah Palin yesterday sent a letter to members of the U. S. Senate and the Bush Administration advocating defeat of the latest version of a bill that would prohibit oil and natural gas development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The legislation, sponsored by Senator Joe Leiberman (I-CT), aims to designate ANWR as wilderness. The Governor criticized the bill as it would effectively ban oil and gas exploration in the most promising unexplored regions in North America - the coastal plain of ANWR.

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In the letter, Governor Palin states that national energy policy must include a variety of resources.

“I don't see national energy policy as an either/or proposition,” said Governor Palin. “Rather, we need to develop secure domestic sources of conventional energy, such as oil and natural gas, while also researching and developing alternative and renewable energy. Alaska is ready, willing, and able to assist the nation in addressing our acute and expanding energy needs.”

Governor Palin reminded senators that opening ANWR to oil and gas exploration would reduce U.S. dependence on foreign sources of oil, increase federal revenues and create hundreds of thousands of jobs.

The letter can be found at:

http://www.gov.state.ak.us/pdf/2007_11_09.PDF

Source: Alaska Governor