The debate over drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge,
or ANWR [pronounce ANN-whar], is heating up as Congress moves closer
to voting on the issue. In Pennsylvania, conservationists who oppose
drilling are competing against labor unions who encourage it. Last
week, the coalition to "Save Our Environment" began running
ads in both the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh media markets. Meanwhile,
the Teamsters union is holding rallies across the state. Brad Linder
reports.
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Ad and Subtract
Commercials critical of drilling for oil in the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge air in Pennsylvania.
January 24, 2002
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For the past week, Pennsylvanians
have been bombarded with a television ad urging them to oppose drilling
in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. An ad airing on both sides
of the state, in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, contends that drilling
in Alaska will not achieve energy security. The ad ends by urging
viewers to contact their senators on the issue.
Alaska may be far away, but drilling there is a local issue, says
Beth McConnell, Clean Air Advocate for the Pennsylvania Public Interest
Research Group.
"Pennsylvanians do want to protect an area, even though it is
located thousands of miles away," she says.
And U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, who represents Pennsylvania, is a key
player in the debate, McConnell adds.
"The reason why it is very important that folks in Pennsylvania
see these ads and are aware of what is happening in Washington, is
because Sen. Specter is a key decision maker in terms of whether or
not we will allow drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge,"
she points out. "And he has yet to make up his mind whether he'll
support or oppose drilling."
The ads are likely to run in Pennsylvania for one more week. It is
difficult to gauge what kind of impact they are having so far, McConnell
says.
"As of right now, we don't know how many calls were generated
to the senators' office over the past two weeks," she says. "But
we do know this is an issue they've been hearing an awful lot about
from their constituents over the last several months. So we can only
hope and assume that interest is continued up until now."
Environmentalists are not the only ones vying for politicians' attention.
At a rally Tuesday in Philadelphia, Jerry Hood of the Alaska Teamsters
union stood in front of the Liberty Bell and vowed to fight back.
More than 200,000 members of the Teamsters earn a living in industries
or companies related to domestic oil production.
"So the limousine liberals and the society page environmentalists
can keep buying commercial time on our airwaves," Hood said.
"But we're going to make sure members of the United States Senate
also hear from the working people of America. We're going to say it
louder, in bigger numbers and until they listen."
Hood told the crowd that environmentalists are capable of spending
millions of dollars to oppose drilling in ANWR.
"We've all seen their TV commercials and know they have the deep
pockets to launch a many more million dollar ad campaigns. That's
why we are here today," he said.
U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, another representative from Pennsylvania,
also took the podium at the Teamsters rally. The energy bill pending
in Congress is about more than drilling for oil in Alaska, he said.
"Here in Pennsylvania, we have hundreds of years of coal in the
ground. And we can't get to it because it is just not economical,"
Santorum said. "What we have in this bill is ways for new investments
and money for digging this coal, and transporting this coal economically.
And not just for power plants, but to turn this coal into clean burning
diesel fuel."
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Additional
Soundbite 1
Beth McConnell, clean air advocate for the Pennsylvania Public
Interest Research Group, says it is difficult to gauge the impact
of the ads, which urge viewers to contact that senators.
Additional Soundbite
2
Beth McConnell, clean air advocate for the Pennsylvania Public
Interest Research Group, explains that U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter
is a key player in the debate, and that is why his constituents
in Pennsylvania also have influence.
Additional Soundbite
3
During a Teamsters rally in Philadelphia on Tuesday, U.S. Sen.
Rick Santorum said the Energy Bill in Congress is not just about
drilling for oil in Alaska.
Save
Our Environment
A coalition of environmental groups runs this "Save Our
Environment" website and is paying for ads that oppose
drilling for oil in Alaska.
Teamster
Union
The Teamsters Union says drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge would create needed jobs.
Library
of Congress
This Library of Congress website will allow you to search
for information on energy bills pending in the House and Senate.
Sierra
Magazine
This Sierra Club Magazine article explains how Alaska's roaming
caribou would be effected.
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