Bachmann: Alaska’s Caribou Will Love Oil Drilling ‘Because Of The Warmth Of The Pipeline’
Bachmann: Alaska’s Caribou Will Love Oil Drilling ‘Because Of The Warmth Of The Pipeline’
During a radio interview on Wednesday, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) attempted to argue that drilling for oil in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR) would be beneficial for Arctic wildlife. Bachmann claimed that drilling would cause not only an “enhancement of wildlife expansion,” but that the area around oil pipelines would also “become a meeting ground and ‘coffee klatch‘ for caribou”:
“Some suggestions are that perhaps we would see an enhancement of wildlife expansion because of the warmth of the pipeline,” she said. [...] The pipeline has now become a meeting ground and “coffee klatch” for the caribou, she said.
Bachmann is not alone among conservatives in pushing this narrative of drilling being good for caribou. Rush Limbaugh said on his radio show last week that “the caribou have multiplied ’cause they like the warmth that surrounds the pipeline.” On Tuesday night, National Review’s Jonah Goldberg made a similar argument on Fox News:
GOLDBERG: People don’t realize that at Prudhoe Bay, where they have been drilling for 30 years, the central Arctic caribou herd has increased fivefold since they started drilling up there. Some people say it’s because they get to hide from the bugs. It’s a little easier for them. But people say it’s because of the lack of hunting. But it is not dangerous to the caribou up there.
Watch it:
Science, however, tells a different tale. Though the Central Arctic herd in Prudhoe Bay has grown, the Porcupine caribou in the Arctic refuge are “very different.” Wildlife biologists say drilling proponents are making an “oversimplified” argument when they tout Prudhoe Bay to justify disrupting the much larger Porcupine herd in the refuge:
Although the same animals, the two herds are very different. The Porcupine herd migrates over a much larger range, an arduous journey that takes its toll on the herd. Scientists also believe the Central Artic herd, a much smaller herd, has access to several acceptable calving grounds. The Porcupine herd has fewer alternatives and the herd has suffered declines in years when deep snow cover made it difficult to reach its preferred calving grounds on Alaska’s coastal plain.
Far from becoming a meeting ground, surveys have shown that the Central Arctic “caribou reduced their use of the more heavily developed Prudhoe Bay oil fields by 78 percent, and their east-west movements declined by 90 percent.” “As surface development continues, the caribou are effectively crowded out of these areas,” said Ray Cameron, a wildlife biologist who studied caribou for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. “They’ve decided it’s not the place to be.”
Studies have also found that pipeline construction near caribou calving and summering areas can lead to “greater calf mortality” and the “reduction of the population.”
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Science has LIBERAL BIAS…
June 20th, 2008 at 4:45 pmtherefore we must not believe it…/snark
June 20th, 2008 at 4:45 pmCrap on a crutch, where the hell do they get this crap and the dumbasses to preach it….Blessing
June 20th, 2008 at 4:47 pmStarbucks, are you listening?
June 20th, 2008 at 4:52 pmAnd the fish loved the new fallen bridge habitat in downtown Minneapolis.
June 20th, 2008 at 4:52 pmOh, Michele, my dumbbell, You can’t be that dumb, can you?
June 20th, 2008 at 4:53 pmAnd if you’re a caribou, and miss the coffee klatch, the other caribou will talk bad about you!
June 20th, 2008 at 4:54 pmOf course!
Just like rats love rat poison because it gives them something to eat when they’re hungry.
Duhhhhhhhhhhh…………….
June 20th, 2008 at 4:55 pmJebus. That woman gives “stupid” a bad name…
June 20th, 2008 at 4:56 pmYou will never find a subject that a republican will not lie about. If there is any advantage to be gained by telling a whoping big lie you will find a republican behind it cowering in the corner somewhere like the cowards they are!
June 20th, 2008 at 4:56 pmthe environmental worries about harvesting oil from anwr continue to grow weaker with each gas price increase. We can likely drill carefully while respecting the wildlife. This anwr stuff is simply env extremism. Alaska would welcome the jobs and god knows how we need more oil. We obviously need more oil.
June 20th, 2008 at 4:57 pmThe Caribu won’t need “the warmth of the pipeline,” they’ll have plenty of heat from global warming to keep them cozy.
http://progressiveworldreview.com
June 20th, 2008 at 4:58 pmIs there some kind of prize she wins for being the stoopidest congressperson ever?
June 20th, 2008 at 4:58 pmIs it odd that the same insane talking point is getting pushed into millions of American homes? Sadly, I can almost hear some of the Low Information Voters (LIV) saying “See Harry (or bill or Dan or Martha) everybody says it is warmer up there so the reindeer can be ok”. Besides oils pills almost never foul the environment – oh yeah, they floated that BS yesterday.
I am telling you all. I am about 98.7% fed up with the whole shooting match. Fisa, GOP, Obama flip/flop, etc…It really is too much. I’m thinking Lake Victoria in BC Canada. Or maybe Spain. I can’t stand to live in a country with so many pussies and cowards. It’s coming very soon….
June 20th, 2008 at 4:58 pmNo, we obviously need alternatives to oil.
June 20th, 2008 at 4:59 pm#11. See #10.
June 20th, 2008 at 5:00 pmYes, and clown fish all sound like Albert Brooks when they talk. Jeez, I keep thinking that it can’t get any more absurd, and yet it can and does. Wow.
June 20th, 2008 at 5:01 pmRUCerious Says:
And if you’re a caribou, and miss the coffee klatch, the other caribou will talk bad about you!
and call you a TERRORIST APPEASER…
June 20th, 2008 at 5:06 pmI once had an anti-wilderness activist tell me that the caribou just loved to hang out around oil installations because there weren’t any wolves. Guess he made it up.
June 20th, 2008 at 5:06 pmThere is no cure for stupid. That woman is about as stupid as it gets. How in the hell did she ever get elected?
June 20th, 2008 at 5:07 pmgunclinger Says:
the environmental worries about harvesting oil from anwr continue to grow weaker with each gas price increase. We can likely drill carefully while respecting the wildlife. This anwr stuff is simply env extremism. Alaska would welcome the jobs and god knows how we need more oil. We obviously need more oil.
YES, I can’t wait to pay $.99 per sixth of a gallon once that Anwr OIL comes out…while Big Oil and its cronies laugh all the way to the bank…
June 20th, 2008 at 5:07 pmMmmmm…..caribou mocha latte venti.
June 20th, 2008 at 5:08 pmFrom the dark corners of my memory:
Didn’t the DOI torpedoe a report on Caribou in the area of the National Refuge? If I remember correctly, there was even a web page with data that was trashed.
June 20th, 2008 at 5:09 pmMy Dingbat Alarm just went off. Somewhere up in TV Land heaven, Archie Bunker is looking down upon Michele Bachmann and scrunching up his face into that annoyed Archie look and saying STIFLE!!
Good lord — where does the GOP find these asshats?? I guess Michele believes that the poor little caribou are thanking their lucky stars that mankind came along after all these thousands of years to provide them with a big caribou space heater so with which they could warm their cloven-hooved tootsies by during their long, cold migratory journey. Egads!
Just saying . . .
June 20th, 2008 at 5:10 pmI sure love the “WHY DO ENVIRONMENTALISTS hate caribou?” line coming from these wingnuts…it is an awesome counterpart to the “Why do you hate America?” mantra they love to throw at us…
June 20th, 2008 at 5:11 pmmichele has caribou shit for brains.
June 20th, 2008 at 5:12 pmgunclinger Says:
the environmental worries about harvesting oil from anwr continue to grow weaker with each gas price increase. We can likely drill carefully while respecting the wildlife. This anwr stuff is simply env extremism. Alaska would welcome the jobs and god knows how we need more oil. We obviously need more oil.
Why must we deal with these repeat claims? THERE IS 6 MONTHS WORTH OF OIL IN ANWR. THE OIL COMPANIES HAVE LEASED 68+ MILLION ACRES OF LAND FOR WHICH THEY ARE AUTHORIZED TO EXPLORE. THEY HAVE NOT DONE SO. Buzz off.
June 20th, 2008 at 5:13 pmIf you collected these bug-eyed neocons to have staring contests, their heads would explode.
Michelle Bachmann vs Gretchen Carlson
June 20th, 2008 at 5:19 pmIs this the same woman who compared a visit to Iraq to a visit to the Mall of America? Why do people listen to twaddle?
June 20th, 2008 at 5:22 pmLessseee, it takes 7 to 10 years to develop the capacity to extract a couple of years worth of oil, when you could be focusing on producing and distributing hydrogen instead.
This is a no brainer. No wonder trolls don’t get it. You have to HAVE a brain to get it.
June 20th, 2008 at 5:23 pmCan we get a mud wresting match with Malkin vs. Bachmann?
June 20th, 2008 at 5:24 pmAt least we’d get some stinking entertainment from these two worthless PsOS
StratRat Says:
“I am telling you all. I am about 98.7% fed up with the whole shooting match. Fisa, GOP, Obama flip/flop, etc…It really is too much. I’m thinking Lake Victoria in BC Canada. Or maybe Spain. I can’t stand to live in a country with so many pussies and cowards. It’s coming very soon….”
I’m thinking another civil war.
June 20th, 2008 at 5:26 pmDefend the constitution and take back our country. Victory will be ours when nothing remains of repugnicans and their enablers but a grease spot on the battlefield. Surrender should not be an option!
McWars, you’re dealing with mindless GOP Talking-points…what do you expect? 68 million acres of land with possible oil in leases that Big Oil hasn’t used up must not exist because no Republican is talking about them…and it’s only the Democrats that are talking about them, so that’s further proof that they don’t exist…
June 20th, 2008 at 5:27 pmI have heard some pathetic reasoning before, but this one ties with “the oil companies are spending billions on renewable resources as they agreed to when they got the tax breaks”
June 20th, 2008 at 5:27 pmgunclinger Says
June 20th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
the environmental worries about harvesting oil from anwr continue to grow weaker with each gas price increase. We can likely drill carefully while respecting the wildlife. This anwr stuff is simply env extremism. Alaska would welcome the jobs and god knows how we need more oil. We obviously need more oil.
______________________________________________
This is all right-wing hooey. If we need oil so badly, there’s nothing stopping the oil companies from exploiting drilling leases they currently hold. If they got leases for ANWR, they would likewise sit on those until the price of petroleum reached the point where it would be most profitable to drill. Anybody who thinks that allowing drilling in ANWR will bring a drop in gas prices is dreaming.
When the oil companies have exhausted their current drilling possibilities, THEN we could maybe talk about destroying pristine areas for more.
June 20th, 2008 at 5:28 pmucsbclassics53 Says:
But a FALSE talking point, like the Chinese drilling off the coast of Florida, now THAT would have some legs.
June 20th, 2008 at 5:31 pmmisshusseinmolly Says:
Maybe you need to put it into language the troll will understand:
June 20th, 2008 at 5:33 pm“No talking about dessert until you finish your vegetables.”
Just to stick it to the trolls once more before I head out.
Latest
USA Today/Gallup 06/15 – 06/19 1310 LV
Obama 50
June 20th, 2008 at 5:33 pmMcIIIrd 44
Diff = Obama +6.0
Not sure I understand how drilling in ANWR would help lower oil prices. It is incredibly naive to think that american oil companies would charge us any less than the saudis for oil.
June 20th, 2008 at 5:36 pmWhy don’t we advocate drilling in ANBAR instead.
June 20th, 2008 at 5:38 pmThere’s no oil there, but at least we could have some jobs for the Iraqis?
Here’s what a caribou thinks: eat eat eat eat eat, walk walk walk walk, eat eat eat eat, AKKK! wolf! run run run run.
June 20th, 2008 at 5:41 pmI. B. Leary Says:
Here’s what a caribou thinks: eat eat eat eat eat, walk walk walk walk, eat eat eat eat, AKKK! wolf! run run run run.
You forgot: Hmmmm, cow in heat!!!!
June 20th, 2008 at 5:47 pmlivelongandprosper Says:
“You forgot: Hmmmm, cow in heat!!!!”
Are you referring to Michele?
June 20th, 2008 at 5:48 pmWe should drill for oil in McCain’s forehead. He’s old enough to have fossil fuels for blood.
June 20th, 2008 at 5:49 pm“Some suggestions are that perhaps we would see an enhancement of wildlife expansion because of the warmth of the pipeline,” she said. […] The pipeline has now become a meeting ground and “coffee klatch” for the caribou, she said.
Someone’s been watching too many late-night, Extenze infomercials…
June 20th, 2008 at 5:50 pmAre you referring to Michele?
Are you?
June 20th, 2008 at 5:52 pmPlease, someone tell me this is a joke before I blow my head off.
June 20th, 2008 at 5:58 pmRUCerious Says:
Can we get a mud wresting match with Malkin vs. Bachmann?
At least we’d get some stinking entertainment from these two worthless PsOS
Mud-slinging is their forte. Like two Aikido masters, they could never fight, because one would have to throw the first punch; neither would risk the only asset they possess; their heavily-maintenanced mugs.
June 20th, 2008 at 5:59 pmIf the caribou love the warmth so much, why aren’t they living in California?
June 20th, 2008 at 6:05 pmYou know, she’s right. Just kill ‘em all. We’re already making so many species extinct anyways. Hey, if you can’t put it on a burger, who cares, right?
June 20th, 2008 at 6:08 pmNone of you will ever step foot in anwr, so don’t go there. Safely drilling in 1/10 of 1% isn’t going to affect us. I am not a republican btw so please don’t insult me. Dems offer no plan which creates more energy, zip. What about us little guys dems? Enough. Drill! Don’t bitter reintroducing the failed energy policies of the 70’s. Been there, done that. No workie. Drill now while simutaneously incentivizing Alt fuels. Do what makes sense and do your job congress! Thanks.
June 20th, 2008 at 6:09 pmDid someone dose the Krispy Kremes at Troll central this morning?
None of the trolls is making a lick of sense today. It’s like they’ve had minor strokes or something.
June 20th, 2008 at 6:13 pmTalk about oversimplifying an issue.
Who in their right mind would ever seriously contend that warmth = good for all life on the planet? And what makes him think all life forms are comfortable at the same temperature?
I bet Bachmann likes a nice warm blanket, but a polar bear will have a very different opinion on what temperature is actually comfortable. Same for a harbor seal, or an arctic fox, or the caribou.
Why, I can’t agree with my wife on what temperature is comfortable.
How can people this moronic manage to get elected?
June 20th, 2008 at 6:15 pmHere is an interesting take on big oil, check out the graph of average oil company income over the last 20 years:
http://danielpdaniel.blogspot.com/
June 20th, 2008 at 6:18 pmllama, since you’re so enlightened, what’s your energy plan? Or are you one of those who think Americans simply need to quit our addictioin to oil? LOL bug gov, big oil, enough. More oil please. The rest of the progressive world is leaving us in the dust while they drill in the deep sea and build nuke reactors foe the people. Troll indeed. At least I dont drink koolaid
June 20th, 2008 at 6:23 pmucsbclassics53 Says:
But a FALSE talking point, like the Chinese drilling off the coast of Florida, now THAT would have some legs.
Of course because the REPUBLICANS are employing that talking point…so it must be true…
June 20th, 2008 at 6:28 pmGee, the trolls must finally see how unpopular the Republicans truly are…Is it why the trolls nowadays seem to say that they aren’t Republicans?
June 20th, 2008 at 6:29 pmSo if we put a coffee pot, a table and some chairs under that toasty pipeline these folks will migrate to ANWR?
June 20th, 2008 at 6:29 pmListening to tabloid trash will make your brain look like scrambled eggs.
June 20th, 2008 at 6:33 pmHey Gunclanger, how about we invade Iraq and get that easy oil? Oh, wait, that didnt work out so well.
Hey how about drilling off the coast of Florida, Oh wait Bush nixed that back in 2002, didnt want them Dolphins getting to close to that warm pipeline.
How about, GunClanger, we drill on the 10,000 leases already issued to the oil companies? Oh wait, Free-Market! We cant force big oil to drill on those leases!!
Now, Gunbungler, lets say you controlled the bread market. You could bake lots of bread and the price of bread could become really cheap and you would make little profit. Or you could claim that, [pick a group], were stopping you from building more bakeries and you cant produce enough bread and the price would rise to golden egg levels!! Free-Markets!!
The oil companies, GumBumper, are playing the blame game and your just smart enough to go along with it.
June 20th, 2008 at 6:41 pmucsbclassics53 Says:
Gee, the trolls must finally see how unpopular the Republicans truly are…Is it why the trolls nowadays seem to say that they aren’t Republicans?
I think they now call themselves “right leaning independents”. That’s why they have a wide stance when in the bathroom stall.
June 20th, 2008 at 6:42 pmNow what, they claim to communicate with caribou?
Next we’ll be told that plants crave “Brawndo” cause it’s got electrolytes…
June 20th, 2008 at 6:48 pmNow, logically, one would think the Oil Companies would be thanking the liberals for their record profits because they created the conditions that made that possible.
Yet they arent, well, because its not true.
In fact, Exxon, during a recent congressional hearing BLAMED the speculators for doubling the price of a barrel of oil.
Exxon is blaming the those evil speculators for their record profits. Those evil speculators forced us to make record profits, its not our fault!!!
Whaddya think about that GumBanger?
June 20th, 2008 at 6:49 pmBachmann: Alaska’s Caribou Will Love Oil Drilling ‘Because Of The Warmth Of The Pipeline’
Wow, that’s gotta be the hottest, sexually-frustrated sublimation since, I don’t know, Trickle-Down Economics?
June 20th, 2008 at 6:53 pmWe need to burn/mine more coal because bats like caves.
June 20th, 2008 at 6:53 pmUscb dont dismiss alterative views as trolls. I’m being respectful,have you got an energy plan other than the failed policis of Carter? I was there, I know how windfall taxes are lame.
June 20th, 2008 at 6:56 pmAnd the real truth is that the pipeline, Alyeska pipeline, is a tube of 1/2-inch thick steel,a diameter of 48 inches, and wrapped in 4 inches of insulation under a sheet of aluminum.
You would freeze to death if you think hugging this pipeline is gonna warm you in the winter.
June 20th, 2008 at 6:59 pmThe answer is simple Gumclinger, they have 10,000 leases to drill on. They either drill on it or take back the leases.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:01 pmgunclinger Says:
I was there, I know how windfall taxes are lame.
Since you were there, you no doubt remember that during the late seventies, oil companies capped already-drilled wells by the hundreds, because of the oil’s high sulfur content. It’s been sitting there all this time, because the oil companies don’t want to spend the extra money necessary to upgrade their plants to handle it. Much easier to get at other, more-easily refinable crude, and pressure congress to drill in senstive areas.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:05 pmAnd the real truth is that the pipeline, Alyeska pipeline, is a tube of 1/2-inch thick steel,a diameter of 48 inches, and wrapped in 4 inches of insulation under a sheet of aluminum.
And during the day, the aluminum would reflect heat from sunlight. It wouldn’t store heat, but it would collect, and radiate it outward.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:09 pmThis fluff brained woman makes me ashamed of my sex.
Michelle — shhhhhh….go bake some cookies.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:13 pmAnd during the day, the aluminum would reflect heat from sunlight. It wouldn’t store heat, but it would collect, and radiate it outward.
Well, I have sat on aluminum fuselages during cold sunny days and I can tell you they may reflect light but damn if I felt any heat….
June 20th, 2008 at 7:14 pmIf Caribou like the heat, they’d live in Florida, and not where they’re highly adapted to cold temperatures in Alaska! -RHF
Dont forget Santa Claus!!
June 20th, 2008 at 7:18 pmChucky RHF, keep up your obsession with Zooey, and posts of yours containing logical input will go ignored.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
June 20th, 2008 at 7:26 pm*FLAGGED*
republicans hate facts Says:
June 20th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
Kisses…
June 20th, 2008 at 7:34 pmI have an “energy plan”.
1st. All passenger vehicles sold after 2010 must meet, or exceed, 35mpg.
2nd. Outlaw incandescent, and other inefficient, light bulbs.
3rd. Preset home thermostats. 68 in winter, 75 in summer.
4th. New, efficient, refineries.
5th. Auxiliary sails on merchant vessels.
6th. Tax the oil industry proportionate to the profits they’ve realized.
I could go on, but, I think you get the idea. There’s LOTS that can be done without going after ANWR which, due to location and climate challenges, will be the most expensive crude on the planet.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:42 pm“Some suggestions …” “Some people say…” “But people say…”
Howsabout some names?
June 20th, 2008 at 7:47 pmyou’re right gunslinger…and I should give you more credit than that…
it’s just the infestation we’ve had lately…
June 20th, 2008 at 7:52 pmBUT CONSERvation and reducing energy use would be a lot better than continuing our consumption of oil at our levels…
June 20th, 2008 at 8:31 pmand going after ANWR…
but you’re right, you have been respectful and I failed to give you credit for that. I just respectfully disagree with your positions though…
June 20th, 2008 at 8:32 pmBachmann needs to be voted out of the 6th district. She is a nut, as we all know.
June 20th, 2008 at 8:33 pmclarkorwell Says:
Bachmann needs to be voted out of the 6th district. She is a nut, as we all know.
June 20th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
I’m tempted to move the few blocks North to her district, just so I can vote against her. I think her district knows what they have. Her numbers aren’t looking good and she just keeps on saying the most batscat insane drivel.
June 20th, 2008 at 8:40 pmHey trolls. Get used to hearing “President Obama”.
That is all.
June 20th, 2008 at 9:29 pmBe careful after they’ve had their third double mocha. Don’t want to run into an over-caffeinated caribou.
June 20th, 2008 at 10:02 pmSpeaking of global warming, they said it was 116 degrees in Shell Beach—California central coast north of Pismo (knew I should have taken a left turn at Albequerque) Beach. That’s really hard to believe–the central coast is usually mild!
June 20th, 2008 at 10:06 pmI was listening to Sean Hannity today (I’m immune to this idiot, don’t worry) and the guest hosting the show said that we won’t get any oil out for 10 years, but don’t worry, we can push the oil companies to hurry and they might get it done in 5 years! Another day I heard Sean Hannity say that we can force the companies to sell the oil to Americans instead of exporting it abroad. So I see…government is only good when it makes a convenient talking point for these pseudo-conservatives!
June 20th, 2008 at 11:35 pmBush, Sr., once said of the Alaskan Pipeline, “The caribou love it. They rub up against it, and they have babies.”
June 21st, 2008 at 12:51 amIs that how George W. Bush was conceived?
June 21st, 2008 at 1:20 amHow does a Caribou rub up against something this high off the ground?
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/Alaska_Pipeline_and_caribou.jpg
June 21st, 2008 at 2:39 amIt’s really amazing that such ignorant people can be elected to represent the people of the United States.
June 21st, 2008 at 12:03 pmGet a warm pipe line up this guy’s…!!!!
June 21st, 2008 at 3:31 pmIf he likes it so much, why doesn’t he build his home on a pipeline and use that to heat his house ?
June 21st, 2008 at 5:46 pmIs there some kind of prize she wins for being the stoopidest congressperson ever?
Yes, the prize is that she distracts from how dumb Norm Coleman is. Take a look at his “Ah Shucks! I’m just a regular harmless hubbie” ad. Looks neutered and harmless doesn’t he? Yeaa right. They can always find another Michele Bachman. But if they lose the senate seat… THAT’s another story. Bachman is running interference for Coleman and a few others. Count on it.
June 21st, 2008 at 11:50 pm