Practically Speaking
Kyle and her husband moved to Brookfield in 1986. She became active in local politics and started blogging in 2004. Her focus is primarily on local issues but often includes state and national topics, too. Kyle looks at things from the taxpayers' perspective in a creative, yet down to earth way, addressing them from a practical point of view.
Herb Kohl More Concerned With Ice Than US and the real anwr
Jonah Goldberg's Ugh, Wilderness The horror of "ANWR." the American elite's favorite hellhole.
Candid Camera, and Gamera Monster movies and the fate of ANWR. Lots of pictures of that precious wilderness.
June 3, 2008
Dear Mr. Torbeck:
Thank you for taking the time to contact me.
I value the correspondence I get from people in Wisconsin, and I welcome this opportunity to
address your concerns.
Our national wildlife refuges were created in 1903
and later expanded by the Roosevelt
administration. Today, our national refuges are threatened because of
several laws passed in the 1960s that allowed "secondary activities"
on refuges, including oil and gas drilling, timber harvesting, grazing, farming
and commercial fishing.
I have been very active in protecting this pristine
wilderness from drilling in the past. Most recently on May 13, 2008,
Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) introduced an amendment to S. 2284, the Flood
Insurance Reform and Modernization Act of 2007, which would have allowed for
drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and off the coasts of
the United States. I voted against this proposal and the amendment failed
by a vote of 42 to 56.
Additionally, I co-sponsored Senator Lieberman's
(I-CT) bill, S. 2316, which was introduced on November 7, 2007 that would designate a
portion of the ANWR as a wilderness, placing a permanent ban on
development. S. 2316 has been referred to the Committee on Environment
and Public Works, of which I am not a member.
Please be assured I continue to support any
further efforts to protect the valuable natural resources of the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge. I oppose drilling for oil and gas in the ANWR
because of the irreparable damage that would be done to its fragile
ecosystem. I do not believe short-term economic considerations
should take precedence over the health of the environment. In addition,
it is clear that drilling in ANWR will not provide enough domestic oil supply
to minimize the control that OPEC has on the petroleum market.
Even in these trying times,
insulating ourselves from the world prices of oil will not come from increasing
domestic production. We cannot drill ourselves out of our oil dependency,
there is simply not enough oil within our borders. Instead, the U.S. can reduce
its vulnerability to oil price shocks by decreasing its demand for oil
altogether. The way to ease the impact of high oil prices on consumers is
to give consumers tools to reduce their demand for oil. Cleary this debate
should be about alternative energy sources, and not wasting our time with
tapping an oil reserve that will lead to more economic and environmental damage
than good.
Again, thank you for contacting me. I
appreciate knowing your thoughts on this important issue.
Sincerely,
Herb Kohl
U.S. Senator
This site uses Facebook comments to make it easier for you to contribute. If you see a comment you would like to flag for spam or abuse, click the "x" in the upper right of it. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use.