Sarah Palin: DOH!

"Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin acknowledges global warming is affecting her state,

But the former GOP vice presidential candidate contends gas drilling will help curb rising temperatures"

Update: US wind usage animation below appears to show NO ONE in Alaska has heard the wind howling and thought to take advantage of it.

"We Alaskans are living with the changes that you are observing in Washington," she said. "The dramatic decreases in the extent of summer sea ice, increased coastal erosion, melting of permafrost, decrease in alpine glaciers and overall ecosystem changes are very real to us." At Tuesday's hearing, she made it clear that she recognizes the problem of global warming and cast energy development as part of the answer. Conservation groups warn that plunging drilling pads into the frozen Beaufort and Chukchi Seas and in Bristol Bay could open the door to a catastrophic oil spill in one of the Earth's most fragile environments. Read the entire article HERE.

And, just as a reminder:

Exxonmobil pays skeptic groups. Defending their right to profits before congress, why would they pay for something if they could get it for free? Click HERE

"The southeast Alaska Panhandle has wind resources consistent with utility-scale production. Major areas of excellent and outstanding resource are found on the ridge crests throughout the region and on the interior marine passageways. Population centers located close to excellent resource areas on these marine passageways include Ketchikan, Petersburg, Juneau, and Skagway."

Click HERE

Wind Turbine - A Social Network; A Wind Powering America Supporting Partner

UPDATE: The good folks at WindTurbines.net have posted a US wind usage animation. I've added and linked it below. Having the most potential for energy doesn't seem to have occurred to anyone in Alaska yet.

(End Edit)

With such an abundant, 'God Given' resource available, why is she still talking about oil? What could her motives POSSIBLY be? Oh... Oil Money of course! ('08 cycle alone, KNOWING the Democrats were coming into the majority)

Alaska Governor Defies Oil Giants and Own Party

This article was posted on AlertNet, a website that posts it's purpose as "Alerting humanitarians to emergencies". It is a Reuters foundation website, and here is their stated purpose "Created in 1982 to support journalists from developing countries, the Foundation today embraces a wide range of educational, humanitarian and environmental causes and projects. "
My hat is off to AlertNet and the foundation for not only reporting on existing emergencies, but keeping an eye out for potential emergencies, hopefully giving us time to do something about it before the need to report it as an actual emergency. Below is an excerpt, please click the title to be taken to the webpage containing the entire article.

REPUBLICAN REBEL

A former small town mayor and mother of four, Palin was appointed chairwoman of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (AOGCC), the board that sets technical standards for oil and gas produced on state lands, by Republican governor Frank Murkowski in 2003.

Palin's stint with the normally staid AOGCC was tumultuous. Soon after joining she began complaining about the conduct of Randy Ruedrich, the chairman of the Alaska Republican Party, who Murkowski appointed as the AOGCC's top petroleum engineer.
Palin accused Ruedrich of ethical violations and resigned in disgust after less than a year in office. Before stepping down, she turned over incriminating evidence against Ruedrich to investigators.
Faced with this evidence, Ruedrich pleaded guilty to violating the state ethics act and was fined $12,000. But he remains chairman of the Alaska Republican Party.

A social conservative, Palin found herself a rising political star ahead of the 2006 elections as Alaskans grew disenchanted with Murkowski's scandal-plagued administration.
Palin's squeaky-clean image and outrage over Murkowski's attempt to negotiate a natural gas pipeline contract behind closed doors propelled her to the top of the polls.
She humiliated Murkowski in the Republican primary and cruised to victory in the general election just as news of another scandal, this one implicating Republican members of the legislature, began to break.

A federal investigation had turned up evidence that executives at VECO Corp, Alaska's biggest oil services company, had been bribing some Republican lawmakers to ensure support for legislation favorable to the oil companies.
Although no evidence has been brought to light linking the oil companies with VECO's activities, recordings of senior oil company executives discussing political lobbying efforts with VECO officials led many Alaskans to conclude the majors were behind the bribery.
Palin used the uproar over the VECO scandal to partner with Democrats in the legislature to push through an increase in taxes on oil production and to set up a new state-backed effort to design a natural gas pipeline project free of the influence of the majors.

The companies are not backing down without a fight. They have already announced investment cuts due to the tax hike and have warned the Palin's gas pipeline plan is doomed to failure without their support.

(Additional reporting by Yereth Rosen, editing by Alan Elsner)
Reuters AlertNet - REFILE-NEWSMAKER
(Click the title to read the full article)