Comment: Alaskans know that for their economy to survive the annually declining throughput of the Trans Alaska oil Pipeline, new oil discoveries are essential.  The most prospective origin of new supply is ANWR, NPR-A and Arctic OCS.  The Obama Administration is rumored to  be considering a final death blow to ANWR’s potential.  It can be done via extension of wilderness status to the part of ANWR reserved by Congress for Oil and Gas exploration and production.  The Obama Administration is taking steps to disallow exploration and production in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.  Finally, the Obama Administration has consistently delayed or blocked efforts to develop Alaska’s OCS areas.  Together, these massive rejections of Alaska’s resource development potential will not only doom Alaska’s economy but will affect the overall economic recovery and security of the Nation.  -dh 

ADN by Erika Bolstad.  Pro-development forces and environmentalists have been divided for decades about the future of the refuge’s northern-most swath — the coastal plain. The anniversary of its founding, along with the Republican takeover of the House of Representatives, has reignited the debate.  And so has the attention from the nation’s highest profile Alaskan, former Gov. Sarah Palin, (NGP Photo)who mentioned the refuge in urging fans last week to watch Sunday’s installment of her reality show."You’ll also see us hunting at the edge of ANWR, where you can see the uninhabited lands that warehouse billions of barrels of American energy supplies underground just waiting for the political will to allow responsible resource development," Palin wrote last week on her Facebook page.

(Personal note: Tomorrow we return to Alaska from energy meetings in New Orleans.  -dh)