John McCain says he would no more be in favor of drilling for oil in ANWR than in the Grand Canyon. I've seen the Grand Canyon and I've never been to ANWR, but I have seen movies of it. I think it is unlikely that we will see tourists flocking to a place as ugly, with bad weather and infested with mosquitoes as ANWR. It is hard for me to embrace McCain as a candidate for President. He claims to be an environmentalist, but he doesn't seem to know much about it. I think most people are aware that ANWR is no Grand Canyon, and that objections to drilling there are part of a political agenda rather than a matter of environmental protection.

Regarding drilling for petroleum, I live in Pantego, Texas, surrounded by Arlington, and two or three miles from Fort Worth. There are hundreds of gas wells being drilled in and around this urban area. Most people are unconcerned about it, are appreciative of the $15,000 TO $25,000 per acre lease signing bonuses, and are eagerly awaiting royalties. Personally, I got satisfaction from the knowledge that the drilling activity irritates liberals. Based on the drilling activity here, it is impossible to believe that drilling in ANWR would cause any damage to the environment. (Note: the Barnett Shale under Fort Worth and much of North Central Texas contains about 150 billion cubic feet of relatively dry natural gas per square mile, of which 30 to 50% is recoverable with recently developed technology. The Haynesville shale covering Southwestern Arkansas, Northwestern Louisiana and East Texas appears to contain a similar amount of natural gas plus some oil.)