Environmental Activism or Just a Job?

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), a native Alaskan and member of the Senate Subcommittee on Energy, writes in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner about her encounter with a U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG) representative who was going door to door, urging opposition to the Energy Policy Act.

I began to engage the young man on the merits of the president's and Congress's energy plans beyond oil production, like conservation, renewables and efficiency standards. He rejected nuclear power as too dangerous, assuring me wind power was the way to go, regardless of the amount of land needed to generate enough power, the number of birds that would be killed or the viewshed issues. I brought up ocean energy, but he was concerned about its impact on fish. He conceded the merits of natural gas but insisted it should come from foreign sources--never mind that most nations' environmental standards are nowhere near America's.

We had been discussing energy issues almost 20 minutes with me challenging him point for point when he broke down. "Ma'am," he said, "this is just a job." He continued, "I don't really believe that we shouldn't drill in the Arctic. I've never been to Alaska. If we drill for oil anywhere, we ought to drill up there--that state is huge. I agree about wind and nuclear energy. It bugs me what they [PIRG] tell us to say." He confessed he wasn't interested in energy issues but was using talking points for his summer job.

... He explained he was doing this for leadership skills as he was a team leader for four others canvassing the neighborhood that night. I informed him what he was doing wasn't leadership--leadership is about advocating for issues he truly cared about, regardless of financial reward. While I was certainly concerned about his actions, Alaskans should be even more concerned about the motivation of opponents to opening ANWR and their willingness to mislead and deceive the public in the process.

Rather than focus on the distortions and fundraising tactics of U.S. PIRG, Alaskans should recognize how committed the forces that want to stop us from responsible energy development truly are. Alaskans must become equally passionate about increased energy production in this country and why the perfect site is a tiny portion of the Arctic coastal plain.

This young man was just a disingenuous salesperson. Americans, however, need to become ardent hawkers of a sound energy policy that combines renewable energy, conservation and new technology with a balanced willingness to produce more energy domestically. Congress took giant steps forward with the newly signed energy bill, and we will go even further when we take up ANWR again this fall.

Alaskans need to team the passion of our opponents with a love for the truth. That is how we will emerge victorious in our battle to open ANWR to responsible oil development.

And the same goes for nuclear energy. As we've seen before, U.S. PIRG isn't all its cracked up to be.

Technorati tags: Nuclear Energy Environment Energy Politics Technology Economics