ANWR vote in the Senate on Wednesday

The Senate is set to vote on drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on Wednesday.

Before they left town, the House shamelessly attached an amendment to the Defense Appropriations bill calling for drilling in ANWR in hopes that it would force the Senate to accept it in order to get the bill to the president's desk. Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) says it'll be a close vote with some swing votes like Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) supporting the removal of the amendment, but undecided about whether they'll vote against cloture (in favor of a filibuster).

As I've mentioned on this site several times in the past, drilling in ANWR is a waste of money and resources since USGS estimates show as little as 6 months worth of oil there which would take 10 years to bring to market. In addition, much of it would end up being exported to other countries.

Most of ANWR is only accessible by plane or boat, and the infrastructure required to get the operation online could be devastating to the wildlife habitat up there. The only sane vote tomorrow is one against drilling in the Refuge.

Contact your Senator here.