Complaining about the rising price of gasoline in the U.S., Alaska’s two Republican senators yesterday introduced a bill to open the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil production. The bill isn’t likely to go far because President Clinton has steadfastly opposed drilling in ANWR, which enviros say would seriously disturb wildlife populations. Sen. Frank Murkowski (R-Alaska) also proposed suspending until the end of the year the 4.3 cents per gallon federal gasoline tax that was imposed seven years ago. But Mathew Gross argues in Grist that high gas prices — now at an average of $1.50 per gallon and liable to rise to $1.80 or more this summer — are something to celebrate because they could lead to a drop in gas consumption and therefore in emissions of greenhouse gases that cause global warming.
