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Congresswoman Bachmann Would Support Drilling For Oil In Everglades National Park

Sep 1st - 07:08am | ed-123

 I am no Bachman fan but The Quote was,  she wouldn't automatically rule the park off-limits if oil were found beneath it. This is a reasonable statement. Oil dependency is a political hot potato right, now so I would be curious to see what the current President would say, if asked. So now lets talk about religion... Just kidding

Aug 31st - 18:09pm | ecbuck

Well Rick - can you show us where she hasn't?  But then its kind of moot, since she hasn't made up her mind in the first place on this issue - unless you know something the rest of us don't.

Aug 31st - 16:15pm | Rick B.

Sorry.  I've yet to see a situation where 'MB' changed her mind when given facts. 

Aug 31st - 16:10pm | ecbuck

Jim - An interesting list.  But for the exception of item 5 those seem like arguments against drilling at all (many of which have equally compelling counter arguments) and have nothing to do with national parks.

Aug 31st - 11:33am | Anonymous

Rather than getting all excited about a hypothetical that will never happen, we national park lovers need to get mad at the 'wind farms' being proposed or developed near pristine areas.  A wind farm is going in near the Grand Canyon South Rim.  A wind farm is being proposed near the California poppy preserve. 

Aug 31st - 09:41am | Jim Burnett

Ecbuck - Here are some arguments I'll offer as "legitimate." While I agree that decreasing our reliance on oil imported from areas such as the Middle East is desirable for many reasons, there are also valid reasons for continuing to keep areas such as national parks off-limits for oil and gas activity.

Aug 31st - 09:21am | justinh

[color=#000000]The more we redefine parks in terms of global commodities--the Everglades as an oil field, the Grand Canyon as a uranium deposit--the harder it becomes to preserve and protect these places.  In other words, the more they are revalued as commodities, the less these places appear as parks, and they come to resemble transparent containers for commodities.  In that scenario, how coul

Aug 31st - 00:15am | hikertom

The solution to this problem is simple: make it illegal to explore for oil or other mineral resources in national parks. If we don't know what's underground in the parks there won't be presure to drill. In this case, ignorance is bliss.

Aug 30th - 22:04pm | ecbuck

First - Kurt:  You think everyone should personally fact check everything they see in the media?  Good luck on that one. Have you personally fact checked every report you have cited on this blog?  I think not.   She repeated information reported in the media and identified it as such.  She didn't "go off" on anything.

Aug 30th - 21:39pm | justinh

ecbuck wrote, " Unfortunately - as exhibited on this board - too many fit." And since environmentalists are, as you say, "often" terrorists, I imagine we may very well have a few terrorists posting here, too.

Aug 30th - 21:28pm | Lee Dalton

EC, my definition of "environmentalist" is a synonym for "wise steward."  I am not -- and most of my acquaintances are not -- simply opposed to all drilling and mining.  We just believe it should be done wisely and with all due precaution.  It should not place profit margins first.  That should be secondary to implementing adequate safeguards to prevent water, air and other forms of pollution. 

Aug 30th - 21:22pm | R Stefancik

I wonder if she'd park a drilling rig in front of the Lincoln Memorial if there were 20 million barrels of oil beneath it?

Aug 30th - 21:13pm | Anonymous

I wish that all of you would just think about each of your children's futures.  If this country does not let companies explore for oil in areas that people deem as parks or off limit (North Slope of Alaska) then we are doomed to buying oil at OPECs price.  Wake up!  If MB wants to think about drilling in the Glades then let her...at least she is thinking about finding a way for us to get our ow

Aug 30th - 21:08pm | Kurt Repanshek

Boy, you're hanging in there, EC. If you read the entire post I linked to re the 2000 staffers, you would have seen at the bottom that politicians, like everyone else, including the media, should factcheck before they start spewing figures. At least I was on the low end.

Aug 30th - 20:22pm | ecbuck

Yes Kurt - you made a "misstatement" - like the ones you claim Michelle made.  Unfortunately in your correction you forgot to mention that the numbers she cited had been published in the media and she appropriately cited them as her source in the interview with Cooper.

Aug 30th - 20:06pm | Kurt Repanshek

EC, actually, I misspoke on the "200 staffer" mention. Here's what she really said to Anderson Cooper:

Aug 30th - 19:59pm | ecbuck

Justin - Unfortunately - as exhibited on this board - too many fit.  Of all the post so far, not one has made a legitimate argument to refute Bachman's statement or suggest why it is wrong.  No one has made an argument (other than demagoguery)  why it should be automatically ruled out.

Aug 30th - 19:38pm | justinh

Then, Anonymous D, you wouldn't fit ecbuck's defintion of an environmentalist, because you have "other considerations."  Then again, I'm not sure many people would fit it.

Aug 30th - 19:16pm | ecbuck

Kurt - I'm looking for examples of where "Michelle has gone off on something of this sort." What was wrong with her "200 staff" lament?  How does her obviously metphorical statement about the hurricane and earthquake relate to energy developement or reflect something she has "gone off on"?

Aug 30th - 18:29pm | Sierra Mark

I can see it now............the upcoming Republican National Convention with Bachman supporters holding their Drill Baby Drill signs! 

Mannheim Steamroller Celebrates Glacier National Park in New CD

Sep 1st - 06:38am | Connie Hopkins

Kurt, I didn't mean YOU were misleading in the article. I meant that the CD cover was misleading!

Aug 31st - 19:44pm | Connie Hopkins

I just received my CD and it's somewhat misleading. He has numerous songs from other CD's on here as well. I was under the impression it was all new work.

Reader Participation Day: How Many National Parks Do You Want To Visit In Your Lifetime?

Aug 31st - 20:19pm | CJT

I prefer quality to quantity. A person who goes to a nationall park for only a day or less, has visited it, but has not really experienced it.

Aug 31st - 17:53pm | Anonymous

Wow, I didn't realize I'd visited so many until I added them all up. 27 national parks (and countless monuments and historical sites), most of them for a week or more.

Aug 31st - 16:35pm | jjedit

I have visited 33 units of the National Park System. I have volunteered at one of them. I will spend the winter volunteering at a NPS site. I hope to visit as many NPS sites as possible during the remainder of my lifetime. They are our best gift to ourselves.

Aug 31st - 12:50pm | KC Traveler

I agree with suki, some visits are quick because they're on (or near to) my route of travel.  Even during short visits, I find that I've always learned something at each site.  I've visited about 115 units, 33 of them national parks.  I would like to visit them all during my lifetime.  It's good to have goal, even if you never reach it.

Aug 31st - 12:22pm | suki

I would like to see as many as I can before my time on the planet is up.  I have seen many NPS sites so far, and though I agree with Aster ptarmicordes that quality is better than quantity, I know for a fact that there are some sites that I visited for just an hour or so because they were on the way to somewhere I was going.  Those quick visits, though only scratching the surface of the sites,

Aug 31st - 09:59am | Anonymous

As to visiting all the National Park units....why not? I make a point to at the very least visit the ones near my home(Minnesota) as frequently as possible. And every summer my kids and I plan our vacations with National Parks locations as the destination.

Aug 31st - 09:20am | Jason

My wife and I have a realistic lifetime goal of visting all the actual National Parks and an unrealistic lifetime goal of visiting all of the almost 400 units in the National Park System.

Aug 31st - 08:36am | AnonymousD

I take the opposite approach of wanting to get to know a few parks in depth. But in finding those few parks, I've probably visited about 40.

Aug 31st - 08:10am | Gary

We have been to 29 and 13 Nt. Mounments we hope to get to more. Nt. Parks are our favorite places to vacation. We do as much hiking as possible. That is the only way to really see and enjoy the parks

Aug 31st - 08:08am | Gary

 We have visited 29 Nt. Pks. and 12 Nt. Mount. I would love to see all of them, but know that is impossible. They are our favorite places to go for vacations.

Aug 31st - 08:03am | Aster ptarmicordes

I do not think visiting the parks should be a numbers game--trying to get to them all.  National Park visitation should be a quality not a quantity experience.  Spend the time to get to know and experience a part in-depth, spend days exploring and learning if necessary--the rewards will be greater.

Aug 31st - 07:23am | riverotter1971

my goal is to go to all 52 actual national parks and I am half way there!

Aug 31st - 05:56am | Danny

Only 25 I don't have the time to see them all.

Bear Watching Mayhem In Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks

Aug 31st - 19:45pm | Suzette

The Darwin Principle at its best!

Aug 30th - 17:28pm | Anonymous

Park officials need to impose some very STIFF fines for people who exit their vehicles when wildlife(griz, black bear, elk, bison) are about. As someone said, the cameras do have a zoom option. These animals are under enough stress without some idiots adding to the problem!! Many times, when a grizzly is taken down it includes not only the sow, but her cubs. They end up in zoos.

Updated: Hiker In Yellowstone National Park Died From Grizzly Attack

Aug 31st - 18:33pm | Anonymous

The park service was very careful on this case not to assign blame until after the autopsy, interesting...It would appear from their posturing that they were not sure why Mr. Wallace died or what caused his injury. It would fascinating to see what the autopsy revealed versus what were obvious signs of injury.

Aug 30th - 21:26pm | dave

well said dave harmon.

National Park Service Issues 5-Year "Call To Action" Plan For Moving Toward Its Second Century

Aug 31st - 16:38pm | Anonymous

  In reference to the document cover choice, remember The Peter Principle is alive and promoted within the NPS for all kinds of justifications like getting your friend promoted beyond any merit issues. So, surely, somewhere in this document, one of these promoted NPS Bureaucrats will suggest changing

Aug 31st - 16:15pm | Holly M

Mark E:

Aug 31st - 13:44pm | Mark E

Yes, Yosemite is a popular park. I hear people even go swimming there -- might make a nice photograph. 

Aug 31st - 13:40pm | Mike Painter

Hiking IS recreation. When I was in Yosemite last month, there were young people all over the place, much  younger than 65.

Aug 31st - 11:51am | Mark E

Perhaps the cover is meant to suggest that, since the "traditional" NPS offerings aren't wildly successful in attracting visitors under the age of about 65, the agency is looking to present a more vibrant, youth-friendly approach to recreation. Yes -- gasp -- recreation! 

Aug 31st - 11:39am | Mike Painter

Kids are allowed in the national parks, and kids should be encouraged to visit the national parks -- by all means.

Aug 31st - 11:27am | Mark E

Harrumph! Are kids even allowed to jump off NPS docks (more properly known as projecting hydratic access structures, or NPS-PHAS)? Should kids really be allowed in national parks at all? They often seem insufficiently reverent. They certainly don't have the autodidactically aquired biology and environmental qualifications that we'd like to see. I'm

Olympic National Park's Mountain Goat Plan Warns Of Dangers of Urinating On Hiking Trails

Aug 31st - 14:31pm | wheepickle

It's silly to think that any animal who lives and thrives in wilderness would not become aggressive when feeling threatened. I mean, HELLO!!?? I don't think we need to do anything different, other than educate the public and accept the fact that the wilderness is still wilderness and we should threat is at such.

Reader Participation Day Bonus: How Many National Park-Designated Units of the National Park System Have You Visited?

Aug 31st - 13:02pm | John and Denise

52 so far. Will visit Gates of the Arctic and Kobuk Valley this week. Hopefully the last 4 within another year. We don't have all the stamps but have really tried to do more than drive thru each park that we have visited. We are looking forward to revisiting several of our favorites.

Mammoth Cave National Park Officials Taking Added Precautions Against White-Nose Syndrome

Aug 31st - 10:48am | Alec Hendrickson

The research and experimentation of this syndrome is our only chance against it

Addition of Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Pushes Number of National Park System Units to 395

Aug 31st - 01:22am | Marc Daniels

The eloquence of this memorial is not in the stone rendition of the man but rather in the inscribed words within the marble. Like very few other individuals, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was able to weed out the hate in a Promised Land infested by weeds.

The Essential RVing Guide

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

The National Parks RVing Guide, aka the Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks, is the definitive guide for RVers seeking information on campgrounds in the National Park System where they can park their rigs. It's available for free for both iPhones and Android models.

This app is packed with RVing specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.

You'll also find stories about RVing in the parks, some tips if you've just recently turned into an RVer, and some planning suggestions. A bonus that wasn't in the previous eBook or PDF versions of this guide are feeds of Traveler content: you'll find our latest stories as well as our most recent podcasts just a click away.

So whether you have an iPhone or an Android, download this app and start exploring the campgrounds in the National Park System where you can park your rig.