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Show DRILLING From page 10 half of all residential homes are now heated by natural gas. So what's the problem and what does this have to do with Utah? Well, it turns out that someone made some mistakes and we didn't have the gas we expected and we used a lot more, a lot faster than expected. Now U.S. gas production, like oil production, is declining - despite increased drilling. If we tap as much gas as possible, America is still looking at a projected 50 trillion cubic foot deficit by 2015 (half of current annual consumption). Naturally, the United States is scrambling to keep up with demand by unlocking as many restrictions to public land drilling as possible. (The San Juan Basin in the Four Corners area is estimated to hold. 50 trillion d of natural gas.) So yes, SUWA: The Bush administration is rushing to open more public lands to oil and gas drilling in order to strengthen domestic energy supplies - good for you! With petroleum demand and prices soaring and Wall Street investors dumping money into the highly profitable energy industry, the Bush administration is just doing what any good capitalist would do: stoke the economic fire by loosening environmental restrictions to oil and gas development on public land. Most of the oil and natural gas in the Rocky Mountain West is locked up in more difficult geological formations such as tar sands, sandstone, coalbed methane and gas shale. Extraction in these circumstances is more difficult, more expensive and much more environmentally destructive - polluting water tables with poisonous gases and minerals, poisoning livestock, displacing native wildlife and destroying surface vegetation. The BLM markets these drilling operations as temporary impacts on the landscape. But Utah history shows that as oil and gas extraction begins to decline at existing fields, oil companies respond by intensifying drilling efforts with less and less concern over local environmental damage. Forget about wilderness. Oil and gas is the new environmental battleground. Utah environmental advocates need to realize that a very real energy crisis is driving land use, not philosophical disagreements about wilderness. Instead of opposing the needs of rural Utah communities, Utah non-profit groups like SUWA need to address energy conservation and advocate for the long term sustainability of rural Utah communities threatened by the short-term vision of our energy policy. After all, urban outdoor enthusiasts have plenty of wild places to have their quiet nature experience. But if we ALL pull our heads out of the sand we can have a real Utah nature experience; watching the Rocky Mountain high desert stabbed to death all in the name of our own consumptive greed. Comments and questions can be sent jmgoodel!@cc. usu. edu. Bring this entry form back to the the Cache Valley Mall office and receive a FREE LUNCH from the Cache Valley Food Court! •_iao oppmg Spree REGISTERtoWIN! 'which typ» of t t o ~ would you most lik«ty purxha** an ovtfi* lor yourvalf? Pi#<t«« pkk An off -price Hwe mch Ci ROM, II ,V.3-:- .Var,h'>'k. Burl-r.gton Coal factcry IRAQ A diX-Cimfrri M'.rh or. VVOWATTI. ArodI :h-p JJ.ICHI a i C—P, Ab-.*:r:-rbt- & filrh - From page 10 like driving to Brigham City. You mount machine guns on your SUVs, check your communication gear, load up with ammo and emergency medical kits and head on down the road. A couple miles down as you pass by some guard rails, the vehicle in front of you suddenly disappears as the roadside erupts into a cloud of debris, shrapnel and black smoke. Some disgruntled citizens have planted a roadside bomb to try and take out some of these unwanted American invaders. Part of your mission is to clear this route of any roadside bombs, and sometimes this is how it gets done. Luckily/ the'^armor held , A lii£;lp--,tvj _hcp zipfrOTPrtxb, li>'!'- Vujrton. laCc">*. Cc-k- Hoon Gucc up to the blast and your friends are just shaken up, but the vehicle is destroyed. You search the area looking for the "trigger man" but he is long gone, probably in a car that passed you moments before the blast. So you secure the area and wait up to two hours for the recovery team to come get the vehicle. In 110+ degree weather, two hours can sometimes feel more like two days. After the vehicle is recovered, you continue on to your destination, which is a hill overlooking a village. It would be a lot like sitting in your car and watching over a town about the size of Hyrum. You sit there all day and all'night watching for suspicious activity along the roads. Your job is to secure this area for convoys that travel to and from the base bringing supplies and soldiers in and out. As morning comes, you load up and head back to the base to sleep and get ready to do it again the following day. This is basically what it's like, physically, to live in Iraq. It is not exactly fun, but it will give you a whole new level of appreciation for what you have in life. When I fly into the great state of Utah in two months, 1 would doubt if there will be anything more beautiful to be seen in the entire world. Send comments & questions to jaredj@cc. usu. edu. A hiahrt-.d dfjff>3ftn>?n/ •/<*•* i-'xh en cioti Fifth A.<anu*. f ^ r r o n Mgieno 'V hew rrnjc+ rrof--jy do yrnj :-p-:.nd p-?r vl>H <o thii. ir.jfl? '\ By entering this contest you will receive FREE LUNCH every year on your birthday! GWEST.COM/CAREERS SALES •7 r I \ \ V UNCAPPED TUITION AID AVAILABLE Qwest offers one of the most competitive, comprehensive and flexible benefit plans in the industry. Our goal is to provide the opportunity for growth and rewards that will attract and retain the very best people. For instance, our great tuition reimbursement program consists of a No Cap Undergraduate Degree Option. Our health, vision and dental plan premiums are fully paid by the company for the employee, with a minimal fee for qualified dependants. Qwest is hiring Center Sales and Service Associates. Our training wage is $8.50/hr (for about the first 12 weeks). Upon the successful completion of training, wages increase to $10.00/hr, with a target salary of $12.OO/hr. Apply online at qwest.com/careers reference Job #CF02060002, or come to our employment facility at Bridgerland Applied Technology College West Campus (Corner of 1400 N and 1000 West), in Logan, and we'll help you apply. Gabriella, Sales Consultant Q west • • ' • . > • . • Spirit of Service1 Qwest is an equal opportunity employer. Any offer of employment is contingent upon the results of a pre-employment drug test and background check. © 2006 Qwest Communications International. Inc. |