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BLM oil and gas lease sale 'criminal,' Redford says

This land is everyone's land, we collectively are stake holders in the government's use of land in this great country, and i for one am for more oil and gas exploration. Its not like they are actioning off the delecate arch for oil exploration at it's base. There is a phony outrage by the environmental extremists and those of us with some common sense don't buy it.

I am so happy! I thought he was in a rest home. Good to see he is still among the living.

As fuel shortages become more common and prices again rise, remember people like Redford who oppose energy development at every turn.

This isn't a Bush-Cheney issue, it's about developing America's natural resources. The impact on the land will be minimal as it is in thousands of other places.

Ironically, Redford and others like him would rather ruin scenery with 300-foot tall windmills. What a double standard!

Why did the author tack on information about the oil shale and tar sands development at the end of his article?

My understanding from the first part of the article is that these leases are for oil and gas drilling in red rock country near national parks and monuments. Are these leases for oil shale and tar sands development or for drilling?

All Redford wants is His property values to go up. He wants to be able to develop beautiful land enjoyed by all but no one else. He is so full of hypocracy.

The public wants to get a chance to put these energy resources to work for ALL of us not just have a select few benefit from their developments.

"Impact on the land minimal"? Have you ever seen an area where oil drilling is going on? It is a huge eyesore. Not only that, oil spills continue to plague areas offshore. Anyone who thinks oil exploration/drilling has a minimal impact on the environment is just clueless. Lets develop alternatives and save the destruction of the beauty of Utah as a last resort, after every other measure has been exhausted.

Robert Redford looks like a poster boy for the American Oil & Gas Industry he so heartily condemns. From his dyed hair, tailored clothing, oiled leather belt and shoes, it looks to me like he is high on the list of consumers who like and need products from American Oil. Maybe he only gets plastic from "approved" sources and always checks. Yeah right, just buy something from his catalog. (only catalog on earth not printed from trees?)Redford's beloved Sundance could not survive without the heat and electricity provided by the very industry he derides. I suggest he call the power and gas company for a shut off every year on December 1st. Wake up and smell what bozo is selling. Speaking of ducks, if it looks and walks like a duck it's a duck. Seeing is believing.

If you've seen how the land around Grand Junction has been wrecked by drilling, you won't want that to happen around Arches, Canyonlands or Dinosaur. BLM should have taken those lands off the leasing list long ago, but this is clearly being directed by Bush appointees who don't care about protecting any lands for public use.

Wow, now that he has thrown his support behind this, that means ..... nothing to me!

Drill here, drill now, we know how to do it with very little impact on the environment.

AIMHO,
A 'Clueless' individual, (As told to us by the all-knowing 'Save it.' commentor)

I hope he had a face lift.

A friend of mine, engineer, works The one of the larger oil companies. He said that these companies who drill have a process that is tightly regulated.

I think we need to develop our natural resources. Otherwise we are hostage to those producing oil outside of the US. Let's explore and utilize ALL of our options.

...have seen the true impact on your own land, when you lease it out for drilling? It's not just the site of the actual drilling. It's the roads, the storage, the equipment, the people who now have total access to the property - and the little you get back for it, isn't worth it.

Drill Baby Drill is a temporary fix. We've known for 30 years that we needed to do something else, why haven't we?

We had better start working on something else, because we cannot support our country entirely on our own oil - so it becomes an issue of National Security.

Man I thought he assummed room temperature along time ago and was up there doing Butch Cassiday and the Sundance Kid sequeals with Paul Newman

That Buccino is a nut case; calling plans that took about six years to prepare "hastily prepared." She has no credibility after making such statements.
And, that valley at the base of Mt. Timpanogos was a beautiful place of solitude and tranquility until Mr. Redford spoiled it with a ski resort. Give me a break!

I guess dressing up and acting like someone he's not makes him an expert on the subject.

Hey! please don't get me started on Redford. GEEZzzZ!

Please reseach the effects that oil shell and tar sands have on the environment. You can choose not to believe facts and science but the facts are these two types of drilling and mining are extemely damaging to the environment. Regardless of what people think fossil fuels are not the future of energy in this country. The middle east has 100 times the amount of fossil fuels the U.S has, so regardless of the amount of fossil fuels we take out of the U.S the middle east will always dictate the price of oil. We must stop using fossil fuels for the sake of the environment and the country.

Bob..you're wrong on this one. The biggest danger is importing energy that can break the economy and households. We need to get the energy out of the ground...employ people to do so, and be energy independent. We'll manage the environment as well, but there is no point to having a pristine environment if people cannot exist.

"Save it" and "How many of you..."

Nobody is stopping you from developing alternative fuel sources. Be the next Rockefellers of wind, solar, hydrogen, garbage, etc. Until you are, butt out! We do not want to be at the mercy of terrorist cartels any longer!!!

Wow! Looks like Bush is going to do a 'Clinton' on us before leaving office, only at the other end of the spectrum.

Clinton established the Escalante Staircase National Monument when he left office that effectively locked up millions of acres of multiple use land from being used for anything but sight-seeing.

Now Bush goes to the other extreme and places millions of acres of multiple use land from being used for anything but road scarring oil/gas use.

Fact is, these actions are just different faces of the same exact coin... and neither really serves the greater interests of the public either in the short term (as Clinton's actions did) or the long term (as Bush's actions are sure to do).

It's a proverbial "Damned if we do, Damned if we don't."