Looking For News in All the Wrong Places

The California whitewater rafting season is winding down, (although O.A.R.S. offers trips throughout the U.S. West, Canada, Alaska, Latin America and Fiji), so I l have been looking elsewhere for news.  While searching the internet for the presidential candidates’ views on the environment, I stumbled upon this July 16, 2008, FOX news report:

In the face of skyrocketing gas prices and continued dependency on foreign oil, Republicans want to allow oil drilling in ANWR, and at least one lawmaker is arguing the wildlife refuge is misnamed.

At a press conference Tuesday on GOP energy plans, Minority Leader John Boehner seemed skeptical that any wildlife worth protecting can be found in ANWR.

"We’re going to look at this barren, Arctic desert where I’m hoping to see some wildlife," Boehner said. "But I understand there’s none there. But I’m still going to look for it. If I find any, I’ll let you know."

Having spent a little time there when I lived in Alaska, I did indeed see all sorts of wildlife.  But don’t take my word for it.  The the U.S. Fish and Wildlife – Alaska (http://arctic.fws.gov/index.htm) website has this to say:

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is home to some of the most diverse and spectacular wildlife in the arctic.  The Refuge’s rich pageant of wildlife includes 36 fish species, 36 land mammals, 9 marine mammals, and more than 160 migratory and resident bird species:  195 bird species have been recorded on the Arctic Refuge.