Comment.  Alaska's economic lifeline, the Trans Alaska Oil Pipeline (TAPS) could cease operations five years from now as throughput diminishes, or tomorrow--due to cold, lethargic througput and a minor malfunction.  This fact is critical to every Alaskan family, since all citizens depend on TAPS throughput for almost 90% of the state operating budget and over a third of the entire economy.  Best sources for new oil to replenish declining TAPS throughput: Federal OCS, Federal On-Shore and State On- and Off-shore oil and gas reserves.  The biggest impediment to bringing these [...]