Alaska Oil Drilling: Norton May Have Misrepresented Data

Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton may have misrepresented scientific data in response to a Senate committee's questions about the environmental impact of oil drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

1 minute read

October 21, 2001, 7:00 AM PDT

By Abhijeet Chavan @http://twitter.com/legalaidtech


[Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton] left out the [U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service's] scientific data that suggested caribou could be affected by oil drilling, while including data that supported her case for exploration in the refuge, documents show. Norton also added data that were erroneous, stating that caribou calving has been concentrated outside the proposed drilling area in 11 of the last 18 years, when the opposite is true... Fish and Wildlife is a purely environmental agency that does not concern itself with economic development or America's dependence on imported oil; it's no secret that most of its employees oppose industrial development in the refuge. Norton is a conservative Cabinet member who has led the administration's pro-drilling campaign."

Thanks to Abhijeet Chavan

Saturday, October 20, 2001 in The Washington Post

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