Shelling It Out

Sell-off of oil leases in polar-bear habitat brings record bidding 2

The Bush administration's sell-off of leases for oil and gas drilling in Alaska's polar-bear-harboring Chukchi Sea raised a lot of controversy -- and a lot of moola. The sale brought in a record $2.66 billion in bidding, well beyond the $67 million the feds had expected and budgeted for. Royal Dutch Shell was the big winner, with the highest bid for a single tract; the polar bear, which is awaiting a decision on its endangered status, is likely the big loser. However, drilling won't commence in the area for at least a decade, so maybe there won't be any polar bears left anyway. Protesters gathered outside the Anchorage library where the sale was being conducted; said Inupiat subsistence hunter Earl Kingik, "I wish I could have money so I could bid myself to save my ocean."

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  1. Wolverine Posted 10:12 am
    07 Feb 2008

    ResponsibilityRemember, for every drop of oil we consume, we're that much responsible for things like this.  Additionally, politicians are far more responsive to how we vote with our pocket books than to calls, letters, or demonstrations.

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  2. javaearth Posted 12:59 am
    08 Feb 2008

    destruction done in the last yearI really do hate seeing things like this, and of course the Bush Admin is trying to get as much as possible destruction done in the last year of office! Of course they do not see the importance of bears, they just see the dollars! - so every sad!

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