When you think about last year’s deadly hurricane season, you also must think about the environment. They do go hand in hand and we hear warnings all the time that our Earth is passing the point of no return. Global warming is a serious issue that requires serious actions.

So how does Senate address this serious issue? They do so by holding the results of global warming hostage. In exchange they want something that will also increase global warming and devastate our environment even more.

A last-minute deal to secure the vote of Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) on a $2.8 trillion budget plan has given new life to the Republican drive to open Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling.

The budget blueprint for fiscal 2007, which will begin in October, includes a $10 billion Gulf Coast restoration fund that would be financed from the leasing of arctic refuge drilling rights, revenue from new drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf of the Gulf of Mexico and further sales of the broadcast spectrum. With that provision in hand, Landrieu cast the only Democratic vote for the budget resolution, which squeaked through Thursday night, 51 to 49.

This is mind-boggling. In order for the Gulf Coast to get the funds it so desperately needs so that they can rebuild, their Senator must first be coerced into signing on to something that is purely a Republican agenda item. I understand in the world of politics it is a big game of “let’s make a deal”, but this is going to far. It is not just a gamble with Sen. Landrieu as much as it is a hostage situation with the people of the Gulf Coast.

This isn’t the first time the Republicans have tried to hurt citizens because they wanted ANWR opened up. When the measure got defeated last December, sparking an emotional out cry by Sen. Ted Stevens, Republicans quickly retaliated. How did they do that? They did so by attacking low income citizens. The Republicans quickly stripped $2 billion in funding from the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). They cited that ANWR was needed to help pay for this program.

Well January 1st his and so did the Medicare/Medicaid reform. The turned out to be a complete nightmare and numerous low-income seniors found themselves without medication. Now Congress has acted to reinstate $1 Billion into LIHEAP so people could get their energy bills paid.

What it all comes down to is a matter of playing games with peoples lives. The Republicans want to strip the ANWR region so bad that they are willing to gamble with the lives of seniors and the livelihood of Gulf Coast citizens. The party of “fiscal responsibility” can not even come up with $2 billion or $10 billion to help out its citizens but they sure as hell can ignore $10 billion that has gone missing in Iraq. They have no problems when we ok the payment of $500 million in over charges to Halliburton. They don’t mind one bit that we spend more on defense then every other nation in the world combined.

How about limiting the President and his speeches? That would help pay for things. It costs a few million every time he goes out to speak. Air Force One flying, security, preparation, signage – all of those things add up to a healthy price tag. He goes around pushing his failing agenda and it is doing no good. It is all money wasted by this government that could go to helping our citizens without the having to destroy our environment further.

What is also alarming is that we are willing to open up the most volatile region on the planet to more drilling. The Antarctic region is already loosing 36 cubic miles of ice each year. This results directly in a rise of our sea levels. Because of this, villages in the ANWR region have disappeared, falling to the bottom of the sea. What was once valuable hunting land is now a slushy field of sea. Of course to Bush all you need to do is find someone to change some words in the scientific research papers and it makes it all better.

In the end, this is going to do nothing more then create a perpetual cycle. Instead of trying to get us off oil, we are going to drill for more oil. That oil is going to burn and produce dangerous gasses that will destroy our atmosphere. Our atmosphere is that necessary level of protection which stops our plant from getting to hot. A hotter planet means more intense storms. More intense storms mean more Katrinas. Now we start all over again.