Fool's Gold, II

Further to yesterday’s post, here’s a flagrant example of the spurious security argument in favor of drilling in ANWR:

"I believe our dependence on foreign oil is a direct threat to our national security," said [US Senator Ted] Stevens [of Alaska]. . . "People fail to realize that our dependence on rogue states and militant states makes us weak. This dependence on outside sources of energy leaves our country vulnerable to the whims of these rogue nations." (from Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

Yes, and Alaskan oil is just as vulnerable to their whims as oil from the Persian Gulf.

The same article quotes a teenage girl from Florida, who claims that properly inflating all US car tires would save more fuel in a year than ANWR is expected to yield ever. (Don’t quote me on that, I haven’t checked the math. But I thought it an interesting comparison. Anyone know a source?)

UPDATE: The Senate voted in favor of ANWR drilling, by a margin of 1 vote. All California, Oregon, and Washington senators opposed drilling; other Cascadian senators supported it. The New York Times reports.