You just cited one of the worst arguments against environmental efforts. I'm a moderate on the issue, but I have a family member that does environmental work, he drives an SUV, but bikes when and where he can. The fact is that most of these folks argue we need to be smart about it. We can't consume all the resources at breakneck pace, and we shouldn't take massive risks to get at resources. If you can walk 2 blocks for lunch why drive? If you can ride a bike to work on a nice day why not? If it's -20F and snowing, take a car, they understand.

The fact is that some places, like the Bering and Chukchi, the technology for things like open water drilling to be done safely doesn't exist. You can't skim 10 foot seas, you can't skim in half-ice conditions, and you don't have the infrastructure to handle a spill, much less a Deepwater Horizon type blow out. That would be environmentally devastating to the North Slope, so why take this massive risk? That's what we talk about.