ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE RESERVE (ANWR): The warmth of oil pipelines an enhancement for Arctic wildlife


Republican U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann makes a failed attempt at conservation or environmentalism. She supports drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR) and claims that we may observe “an enhancement of wildlife expansion because of the warmth of the pipeline.” Her logic is flawed. Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) are an Arctic and sub-Arctic species and are made up of several subspecies including the Porcupine caribou or Grant’s Caribou (R. tarandus granti). If caribou and other Arctic species need warmth then there should be a geographical shift further south. Rush Limbaugh makes a similar flawed argument. No such observations exist. In fact, the opposite observation exists where species are shifting north or into higher altitudes.

She also claims that global warming is her friend. Furthermore, the Republican from Minnesota notes that she is pro-choice when it comes to light bulb choice. As a result, she introduced the Light Bulb Freedom of Choice Act in response to the government’s proactive attempt to reduce unnecessary energy consumption and waste by phasing out traditional light bulbs. As TreeHugger notes, “this isn’t one of our Onion parodies, it’s real.” She cites the mercury content contained within compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) as the flaw for this shift. However, America gets a fair share of its power from coal so the use of CFLs reduces energy or coal consumption.

She also says that she is a “fool for Christ.” However, I am sure Christ probably thinks she is a fool for socially constructing Christianity to impose her agenda and for not making more of an effort to save the destruction of Creation or Nature from gluttonous, gross and unchecked anthropogenic consumption.

On the Net: H.R. 5616: Light Bulb Freedom of Choice Act
On the Net: Mercury-Containing Light Bulb (Lamp) Recycling

2 thoughts on “ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE RESERVE (ANWR): The warmth of oil pipelines an enhancement for Arctic wildlife

  1. *ahem* Excuse me, but has anyone here looked at Prudhoe Bay? The population of Caribou there is at an all time high… Even Donella Meadows admitted that. I don’t think there’s much of a risk to the caribou.

  2. More on the oil/Caribou debate can be found here:

    Caribou Calves and Oil Development Do They Mix?
    http://www.wildlifenews.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wildlife_news.view_article&articles_id=298&issue_id=51

    Caribou Distribution and Behavior within One Kilometer of Gravel …
    http://www.rw.ttu.edu/ballard/Adobe%20proposals%20and%20pubs/Caribou%20Distribution%20and%20Behavior.pdf

    Effects of Oil and Gas Activities on Alaska’s North Slope Prudhoe …
    http://www.arcticrefugeaction.org/about_refuge/Caribou_Fact_Sheet.pdf

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