Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) threatened yesterday to filibuster to block any legislative effort by President Bush to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling. He called Bush’s attempts in recent weeks to link oil exploration in the Arctic Refuge to the current energy supply shortage in California “muddled at best and cynical at worst.” Kerry pointed out that if drilling were to occur, it would take at least 10 years for oil from the refuge to enter the supply stream, and that California only generates 1 percent of its electricity by burning oil. Arctic Refuge or no Arctic Refuge, Bush’s efforts to open whole bunches of currently protected areas to drilling continue apace. Interior Secretary Gale Norton said yesterday that the Bush administration will consider expanding drilling in areas throughout the Rocky Mountains.
