President Should Forget Arctic Refuge, Focus on Fuel Efficiency and New Fuels

By Alan Gray, NewsBlaze

President Bush's four-part plan to reduce energy prices takes several steps in the right direction, but the White House's continued push to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is wrongheaded.

Republicans for Environmental Protection (REP), a national grassroots organization approved of the President's vehicle and investment approach, while opposing drilling in ANWR.

"We applaud the President for supporting expanded tax incentives for purchasing high-efficiency vehicles and greater investment in alternative fuels, including ethanol," said REP Government Affairs Director David Jenkins.

"Drilling for oil in the Arctic Refuge, however, amounts to re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Prices are spiking because our addiction to oil leaves our country exposed to a volatile market that we have no control over," Jenkins said.

"Drilling the Arctic Refuge won't cure our addiction to oil, it would perpetuate our addiction to oil and give away a spectacular wilderness to oil companies. Drilling the Arctic Refuge won't lower prices and it won't bring energy security. When the U.S. holds only 2 percent of the world's oil but uses 25 percent of world oil production, an oil-centered energy policy is self-defeating," REP Policy Director Jim DiPeso said.

"A better way is using fuel more efficiently and aggressively phasing in biofuels and other alternatives that will end our dependence on oil for good. We call on President Bush to drop his insistence on drilling the Arctic Refuge and instead focus his efforts on improving fuel efficiency and diversifying our fuel choices," DiPeso said.

Source: Republicans for Environmental Protection