Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
In my Walter Mitty-ish daydreams I sometimes imagine myself a wordsmith - that being, one who can so skillfully use words that there is noone who can mistake either the meaning, or even argue the meaning of of one's carefully constructed prose.
That being so, I despair greatly of our nation ever regaining our language. Words have definite and discoverable meanings... and even more importantly, reality EXISTS... Not that reality is whatever you say it is, but that it exists, immutably refuting all who defy it in such a way that their words congeal about them and they find themselves alone in thier delusions.
These two simple, and absolutely correct facts have almost been forgotten. The words of many now reflect the fact that they assume that reality is merely what one can convince MOST of those who cannot directly see, and many of those who can, that what exists, does not, and what does not exist, does.
<B>Pestilence</B>
Pronunciation: 'pes-t&-l&n(t)s
Function: noun
Date: 14th century
1 : a contagious or infectious epidemic disease that is virulent and devastating; especially : BUBONIC PLAGUE
2 : something that is destructive or pernicious <I'll pour this pestilence into his ear -- Shakespeare>
(This is a quote from Merriam Webster's online dictionary)
<B>Pristine</B>
Pronunciation: 'pris-"tEn, pri-'stEn, esp British 'pris-"tIn
Function: adjective
Etymology: L pristinus; akin to Latin prior
Date: 1534
1 : belonging to the earliest period or state : ORIGINAL <the hypothetical pristine lunar atmosphere>
2 a : not spoiled, corrupted, or polluted (as by civilization) : PURE <a pristine forest> b : fresh and clean as or as if new <pristine hard-backs in uniform editions to fill our built-in bookcases -- Michiko Kakutani>
In the debate over whether to drill for oil within the ANWR, the sad fact is, that reality is entirely lost upon the "anti-oil" crowd. Thier arguments are in effect, an arrogant and totally dishonest attempt to make you think contrary to reality. Anti drilling zealots show pictures of snow capped mountains, mammalian wildlife in abundance, an unusual and delicately balanced zone of life and beauty in one of the most remote and untouched by man areas of the globe.
But it's a lie.
The area that the oil is in is NOT that at all. It is a arctic ocean coastal plain. There are no trees, no moose. Hardly any animals at all. Most animal life can't survive in this horrible place. In the harshest environment this nation has, there is only one kind of life... predatory. For a few short weeks, the area thaws on the surface, water pools on the flat tundra, and insect life, fed by endless sun and the blood of the few mammals who do manage to endure thier onslaught create the definition of pestilence.
But you say, it is pristine. Oh, and that is a virtue? Krakatoa, shortly after it's explosive birth was "pristine" as well. A steaming, smoking, belching cauldron of poison, heat, smoke, and pollution, who's birth caused death.
But it's not quite "pristine" anyway. The natives have been hunting and killing the caribou and other mammals who do manage to endure the pestilence in the area for some time now. Man's presence has been there for quite some time. We don't even forbid them from hunting there anyway... We're only interested in modifying the behavior of "regular" Americans (and others) who don't fit within a certain genetic family history. (what's this again about "all men being created equal"???)
In an area who's land mass exceeds that of a good lot of our states, we're discussing the reclassification of an area the size of a really big airport. There aren't any roads there. There won't be many roads there. There won't be anyone else there, other than the unlucky and probably victimized souls who, by the luck of the draw, end up having to go there and endure this "pristine pestilence".
So I ask you now... What if, when the map for ANWR was drawn, this particular corner edge hadn't been included? Would ANWR have been horribly and utterly misbegotten? Would it have been the equivalent of the stillborn child who died because he had no working lungs, if this little corner had not been included? No, ANWR would be precisely as it is now. Nothing owuld have been missed, nothing would have been ruined, and nobody on earth would have EVER "discovered" that an infinitely important and utterly irreplaceable part had been left out.
So drill for the oil. Put in roads. Put in pipelines. Put in people. Put in machines. Why? So that the curious, the explorers, the fanatics, the fans, the honest, and perhaps even a few of the dishonest will actually have the chance to SEE why it was that Adam and Eve were punished when they were banned from thier garden home - that they then had to endure the "pristine pestilence" of the world outside thier control.
Maybe, just maybe, if it happens, if some yet unknown soul decides to verify the destruction of the "pristine" area by our greed and thirst for oil, that he will discover and publish the reality of there being a pristine paradise - the one we've been shown, and a pristine pestilence - the on we're not being shown, and that we, as humans, CAN make a judgement about what is paradise, what is not, and maybe, just maybe, restore a little integrity back to our language, our nation, our national discourse... Maybe. I'm not holding my breath... But I think it's worth a try.
That being so, I despair greatly of our nation ever regaining our language. Words have definite and discoverable meanings... and even more importantly, reality EXISTS... Not that reality is whatever you say it is, but that it exists, immutably refuting all who defy it in such a way that their words congeal about them and they find themselves alone in thier delusions.
These two simple, and absolutely correct facts have almost been forgotten. The words of many now reflect the fact that they assume that reality is merely what one can convince MOST of those who cannot directly see, and many of those who can, that what exists, does not, and what does not exist, does.
<B>Pestilence</B>
Pronunciation: 'pes-t&-l&n(t)s
Function: noun
Date: 14th century
1 : a contagious or infectious epidemic disease that is virulent and devastating; especially : BUBONIC PLAGUE
2 : something that is destructive or pernicious <I'll pour this pestilence into his ear -- Shakespeare>
(This is a quote from Merriam Webster's online dictionary)
<B>Pristine</B>
Pronunciation: 'pris-"tEn, pri-'stEn, esp British 'pris-"tIn
Function: adjective
Etymology: L pristinus; akin to Latin prior
Date: 1534
1 : belonging to the earliest period or state : ORIGINAL <the hypothetical pristine lunar atmosphere>
2 a : not spoiled, corrupted, or polluted (as by civilization) : PURE <a pristine forest> b : fresh and clean as or as if new <pristine hard-backs in uniform editions to fill our built-in bookcases -- Michiko Kakutani>
In the debate over whether to drill for oil within the ANWR, the sad fact is, that reality is entirely lost upon the "anti-oil" crowd. Thier arguments are in effect, an arrogant and totally dishonest attempt to make you think contrary to reality. Anti drilling zealots show pictures of snow capped mountains, mammalian wildlife in abundance, an unusual and delicately balanced zone of life and beauty in one of the most remote and untouched by man areas of the globe.
But it's a lie.
The area that the oil is in is NOT that at all. It is a arctic ocean coastal plain. There are no trees, no moose. Hardly any animals at all. Most animal life can't survive in this horrible place. In the harshest environment this nation has, there is only one kind of life... predatory. For a few short weeks, the area thaws on the surface, water pools on the flat tundra, and insect life, fed by endless sun and the blood of the few mammals who do manage to endure thier onslaught create the definition of pestilence.
But you say, it is pristine. Oh, and that is a virtue? Krakatoa, shortly after it's explosive birth was "pristine" as well. A steaming, smoking, belching cauldron of poison, heat, smoke, and pollution, who's birth caused death.
But it's not quite "pristine" anyway. The natives have been hunting and killing the caribou and other mammals who do manage to endure the pestilence in the area for some time now. Man's presence has been there for quite some time. We don't even forbid them from hunting there anyway... We're only interested in modifying the behavior of "regular" Americans (and others) who don't fit within a certain genetic family history. (what's this again about "all men being created equal"???)
In an area who's land mass exceeds that of a good lot of our states, we're discussing the reclassification of an area the size of a really big airport. There aren't any roads there. There won't be many roads there. There won't be anyone else there, other than the unlucky and probably victimized souls who, by the luck of the draw, end up having to go there and endure this "pristine pestilence".
So I ask you now... What if, when the map for ANWR was drawn, this particular corner edge hadn't been included? Would ANWR have been horribly and utterly misbegotten? Would it have been the equivalent of the stillborn child who died because he had no working lungs, if this little corner had not been included? No, ANWR would be precisely as it is now. Nothing owuld have been missed, nothing would have been ruined, and nobody on earth would have EVER "discovered" that an infinitely important and utterly irreplaceable part had been left out.
So drill for the oil. Put in roads. Put in pipelines. Put in people. Put in machines. Why? So that the curious, the explorers, the fanatics, the fans, the honest, and perhaps even a few of the dishonest will actually have the chance to SEE why it was that Adam and Eve were punished when they were banned from thier garden home - that they then had to endure the "pristine pestilence" of the world outside thier control.
Maybe, just maybe, if it happens, if some yet unknown soul decides to verify the destruction of the "pristine" area by our greed and thirst for oil, that he will discover and publish the reality of there being a pristine paradise - the one we've been shown, and a pristine pestilence - the on we're not being shown, and that we, as humans, CAN make a judgement about what is paradise, what is not, and maybe, just maybe, restore a little integrity back to our language, our nation, our national discourse... Maybe. I'm not holding my breath... But I think it's worth a try.
If we keep drilling,Where are we going to retire to?
I see it as an exciting time,if we use as much time thinking about how we can get more power out of our rigs,and focus on alternative energy sources,you could all be millionares. 
