So why shouldn't Alaskans be permitted to fuck up Alaska?

[Jersey Devil]

I mean, I'm from Joisey and our forefathers fucked up New Jersey starting well over a hundred years ago. We have more Superfund sites than any other state in the union. Hell, every time they build a new complex somewhere they have to spend 5 years checking for mercury, benzyne, etc. You can't eat fish caught in the NY Harbor (PCBs) and fish in the ocean only twice a week and only if they are little fish. People with well water (not too many these days) have the wells tested more than they have the oil changed in their cars looking for lead and more mercury and all that good stuff that Ford and Alcoa and all the refining tanks along the Turnpike have leeched into the ground for the past 100 years.

So if Alaskans want their state to look (and smell) like New Jersey, who the hell am I to object?

Actually, over the past 15-20 years NJ has been doing a good job cleaning up and restoring the environment, what's left of it without houses and factories on it that is. What a pity though that for 100 years no one paid attention until it was almost too late. That's where Alaska may be headed and while its current residents might be in for an economic treat for a while, pity their grandchildren.

[leftchick]

1. and think about Florida....

talk about fucking up one gorgeous hunk of land. America the Beautiful! What a fucking JOKE!

[FiveGoodMen]

2. Has Alaska Seceded?

Can Montanans do whatever they want to Yellowstone?

What's the N in ANWR for?

[KansDem]

8. "Can Montanans do whatever they want to Yellowstone?"

Please, don't give them any ideas! :scared:

[Deep13]

3. The Earth belongs to everyone ...

... or rather, we belong to it. Evironmental damage effects everyone, not just those who live in a particualr state. As you have discovered in the garden state, one things are fucked-up, it is not so easy to repair. Wild places are the normal condition of the Earth and are disappearing. When they are gone, they cannot simply be relpaced or fixed. The places that have been set aside and put off limits for development belong to everyone. Would we allow oil drilling in the Grand Canyon or Yosemite? That might be next. Besides, I doubt that Alaskans generally are behind this. It is greed by oil companies and their political allies plain and simple.

[BrklynLiberal]

4. They don't really OWN that land, they just live there. Just as we don't

truly OWN this planet..We just live here, and are supposedly entrusted with its care.

[jpak]

5. Because ANWR is located on FEDERAL land

It's not their's to fuck up.

[redherring]

6. Well because the other 48 states bought Alaska

If you buy something it's your property. So it's not just Alaskans whose opinion counts here.

[KansDem]

7. Ummm....'cause it's not ASWR?

"Alaska State Wildlife Reserve?"

I think the key word here is "National" as in belonging to the nation. If it were the "Alaska State Wildlife Reserve," then you'd have a valid point...

But apparently some Alaskans and 51 US Senators believe "fucking up" ANWR is O.K.

[democracyindanger]

9. Absolutely

Alaskans should feel free to fuck up any part of Alaska that isn't land that belongs to the entire country.

[Deep13]

12. That's none of it.

Every state belongs to that state, but also to the United States. That is the difference between a federal union and a mere treaty organization.

[oneighty]

10. Positive side

one less 2006 campaign hammer for the pubes.

180

[EVDebs]

11. Methane hydrates in cooperation with Canadian natgas pipelines

will, in the future, be a better deal than anything this ANWR thing can produce.