There was a bit of hesitancy in communications director Kathy Westra’s voice last Thursday when she asked me how I would feel about wearing a polar bear costume to an outdoor mid-day rally at the Department of the Interior to raise awareness about oil drilling in Arctic waters.
As a communications intern new to Washington, I jumped at an opportunity to draw attention to myself, and I then proceeded to research the issue more in-depth, so I would know why I was wearing this enormous furry outfit in the noonday Washington heat.
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This week, National Journal reporter Margaret Kriz asked Bill Meadows and other environmental experts to focus on one of the important environmental decisions facing Interior Secretary Salazar: whether or not to open more of America’s coast to offshore oil and gas exploration and drilling.
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Today is a big day in Anchorage. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar is in town to gather input to inform his agency’s decisions about opening the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) to energy development. Anchorage is home base to many major oil companies that operate on Alaska’s North Slope, so we expect a big turnout from both pro-development interests as well as those who are concerned about the environmental impacts of oil development in Alaska’s pristine waters.
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I’ve just returned from a lunch of freshly-grilled wild salmon. That’s not unusual in Alaska.
What was different about this meal was the fact that it took place in downtown Anchorage, and I was joined by about 50 other people, including a woman dressed as a polar bear.
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It’s a good day when you can be reasonably assured that a trip to the Windows or Delicate Arch at Arches National Park won’t be tarnished by the thought that most of the public land surrounding the park is in the hands of the oil and gas industry.
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Ahhh, Science!
Hardworking, honest and, until recently, greatly under-valued and disregarded government scientists have been greatly cheered, even moved, by President Obama’s inaugural pledge to “restore science to its rightful place.”
The government scientists are not alone.
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