HJR 12: Expressing support for federal energy initiatives affecting Alaska that would reduce the nation's continuing dependence on imported foreign oil as its principal energy source.
00 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 12 01 Expressing support for federal energy initiatives affecting Alaska that would reduce the 02 nation's continuing dependence on imported foreign oil as its principal energy source. 03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 WHEREAS the nation's dependence on imported oil results in the purchase of much 05 of that oil from nations whose foreign policy aims and human rights standards do not coincide 06 with those of the United States; and 07 WHEREAS dependence on foreign oil has threatened national security and has put 08 our military forces in harm's way in order to ensure that oil supplies are not disrupted; and 09 WHEREAS the purchase of oil from those nations also provides them with vast 10 financial resources that are often used for the purchase of weaponry that endangers worldwide 11 security; and 12 WHEREAS the United States is currently importing more than 55 percent of the 13 petroleum that our nation uses, forcing Americans to suffer from huge spikes in the price of 14 international oil and gas; and 15 WHEREAS there is high potential for oil and gas development in the coastal plain of 16 the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the National Petroleum Reserve Alaska; and
01 WHEREAS 30 trillion cubic feet of proven reserves of natural gas are currently 02 stranded on the North Slope of Alaska, and vast unproven reserves exist throughout Alaska 03 and Northern Canada; and 04 WHEREAS Alaska has a proven 170,000,000,000 tons of coal within the state and a 05 potential 5.5 trillion tons, or one-half the coal reserves in the United States; and 06 WHEREAS there is high potential for producing and delivering hydrogen for fuel 07 cells from geothermal power and seawater in the Aleutian Island chain and in other locations 08 using any alternative energy sources, such as tidal hydroelectric, wind, and solar power, with 09 an ample supply of water; and 10 WHEREAS the University of Alaska is a world-class land, sea, and space grant 11 institution with significant research facilities and top-notch research faculty; 12 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature supports the development of 13 Alaska's vast energy resources to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil and urges the 14 United States Congress to use the knowledge base at the University of Alaska to harness the 15 energy potential of the state; and be it 16 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature supports the 17 environmentally responsible exploration and development of new oil and gas resources on the 18 North American continent; and be it 19 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature supports the 20 implementation of incentives for a natural gas pipeline project from the North Slope of Alaska 21 to the continental United States; and be it 22 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature supports the development 23 of reasonable energy efficiency standards in America; and be it 24 FURTHER RESOLVED by the Alaska State Legislature that President George W. 25 Bush and the Congress of the United States are strongly encouraged to develop a 10-year plan 26 for North American energy independence, as the United States did in the 1960s with the 10- 27 year plan to develop the space program, and that Alaska's vast energy resources be used as the 28 backbone of this 10-year plan. 29 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable George W. Bush, President 30 of the United States; the Honorable Richard B. Cheney, Vice-President of the United States 31 and President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Gale Norton, United States Secretary of the
01 Interior; the Honorable J. Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; the 02 Honorable Bill Frist, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Ted Stevens and the 03 Honorable Lisa Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. 04 Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress; and to all other members of 05 the 108th United States Congress.