Vote ‘No’ on 2!

ADN Op-Ed by Governor Frank Murkowski (NGP Photo).  The Coastal Zone Planning Initiative that Alaska Governor, Frank Murkowski, Coastal Management Program, Voters Initiative, Photo by Dave Harbourwill appear on the Aug. 28 primary ballot as Measure 2 is very different from the bill that passed the House 40-0 in the 2011 session of the Legislature.  As proof — only 7 out of 60 Alaska Legislators supported Proposition 2 when it was proposed as legislation in the 2012 session of the Legislature. Remember:

• There had been debate on coastal zone for two years, so Legislators were fully aware of the impact of the differing proposals;
• The vote in the 2011 session showed that all 40 House members and many from industry were willing to support reasonable coastal zone legislation;
• Yet, only seven Legislators supported what will be Measure 2 in the form of legislation — six Democrats and one Republican from Homer.
 
If 53 Republicans and Democrats can agree on something, we should all take a step back and really consider what the initiative that will appear will do and won’t do.
The Star, Canada.  Ottawa has no plans to step in and revive the stalled Mackenzie Valley gas pipeline, a mega-project in limbo because of sagging natural gas prices.  Ultimately, such projects have to commercially viable, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said, as he rejected suggestions the federal government take a more active role in making the project a reality.  “Our government’s fundamental approach to oil and gas development is to see that . . . decisions be made by proponents themselves,” Harper said Wednesday during a stop here.  “Obviously shifts within the oil and gas industry in terms of prices are having profound effects upon decisions that commercial producers may make.”  In the works for decade, the five-member consortium responsible for the pipeline announced in April that it was scaling back on the $16.2 billion project to build a 1,196-kilometre line to move natural gas from the Beaufort Sea to markets in Canada and the United States.  Harper said the federal government is prepared to offer support to boost local infrastructure for the project but would steer clear of active intervention.  “That package of support is on the table but fundamentally the proponents themselves have to make a decision on whether these projects are commercially viable,” Harper said.  Bob McLeod, premier of the Northwest Territories, expressed optimism that the pipeline will eventually be built, driven by demand for cleaner natural gas as a source of energy.