I'm kind of a fan of the Cristo school of environmental art. Put up something really big, really dramatic, and really cool-looking. Then you take it down.

Opponents to drilling need to wake up to the 21st century. Modern drilling techniques greatly reduce the chances of spills compared to 30 years ago. It would be the height of hypocrisy to refuse drilling based on "what-if" scenarios with no scientific basis while continuing to drive our cars and enjoy our lifestyles.

When the spiral jetty was built there were old drilling equipment and buildings nearby. As I recall, the artist even said that he felt like the rusted lines of that old installation added to the atmosphere of the spiral jetty. So maybe a new clean-lined industrial application would add more art to the site!?!

The State of Utah should protect and preserve the
Spiral Jetty. This work of "Earth Art" is an art project that has
not only national significance, but is an important work on a global
level. It is part of the cultural heritage of the world's people, of
a significance similar to such treasures as the paintings of
Leonardo, the architecture of Palladio, the stone work at Mitla in
Mexico and the pyramids of Egypt.

The work is not "removeable"--like the monuments of
Easter Island, it is a part of its geographic location.

The world knows Utah and the Great Salt Lake from this work of art.. More than any other contemporary work, it is for eternity, designed for future generations.

The proposed exploration cannot help but destroy the atmosphere and milieu of this work. The geo-ecology of the Spiral Jetty is very delicate. It needs to be protected from any pollution and destruction. It needs to be
defended from opportunistic avarice. Any proceeds from the drilling
will be short term and transient. If it is protected for the future,
this work can be an eternal reminder that the State of Utah defends
and guards her natural and aesthetic heritage.

Nothing is sacred when it comes to Oil and Gas development. They should drill right in the middle of the center of it. I think the artist would want it that way. It would just add to the big picture aspect of it.

"global level art ... very delicate... cultural heritage...eternal reminder" LOL ! What a bunch of liberal drivel. It�s a pile of rocks in a lake. Basalt rocks are not delicate. Get a clue.

The drill site would be 4 miles away for crying out loud. If the whacko�s keep everyone from drilling for new oil the price of gas will just keep going up. It seems to me that these whacko�s think that humans are the cause of all the worlds� problems... They just want to stop our free market economy so they can dictate, with there superior intellect, to the rest of us.
Yet they still have big fancy homes with furnaces, A/C, and drive SUV's. Most are the biggest Hypocrites - i.e. Al Gore.
If they believed what they say - they'd want to remove the jetty and restore the lake back to its natural condition and if they really blieved what they say then they should commit suicide so that they would use less of the earth�s recourses.

The state already gave permission for Nine-Mile Canyon to be disrupted and ruined with truck traffic as oil and gas digging. If you can't save a historic canyon with petroglyphs, how can you save artwork?

Hey sensible scientist you're right about drilling methods, what you aren't right about is the toll the truck and equipment have on everything else. The Uintah Basin is a mess right now because of the truck traffic--if you can figure out a way to contain this like they have with the drilling, then this is an easier decision.

It is hilariously hypocritical to see the alarm some people show between the possible effects on the environment of drilling for oil versus the deliberate, and probably longer-lasting disturbance caused by an "artist", however intriguing and, to some, beautiful.

I understand why some people may prefer one versus the other. But to simply label one as detrimental and devastating and the other as �art�, and therefore not only tolerable but noble, without any acknowledgment of their similar disturbing (to the environment) effects, just seems oddly, but not surprisingly, hypocritical.

Besides, "mixing" of "art" and oil in this case would be awfully difficult when they're FIVE MILES APART!

People's comments here are shocking. I'm stunned at many Utahn's ignorance and animosity towards art. Let's just drill in downtown salt lake. How about in front of temple square? How about on top of the point of the mountain? Oh, wait, we've already done that. There's a reason DC limits building heights, it would destroy the impact of the national mall and our wonderful monuments. Efforts to save the jetty are not liberal drivel, it's the desire for beauty and truth over consumerism. Isn't that what mormons are all about???

These enviornmental wackos won't allow oil drilling anywhere on plantet earth, but they moan and complain about $3 gasoline for their volvos due to a shortage of oil.

They also demand government provide free healthcare, housing and full retirement benefits but don't understand that money does not grow on trees. Oil and gas drilling and mining are necessary to pay for the nanny state freeloaders a.k.a "artists" and "enviornmentalists".

I dont think it's fair to say that environmentalists or artists are freeloaders. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but this amount of hypocrisy and hatred is really just disturbing.