The Bush administration has an unhealthy "obsession" with oil in the Arctic, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer says in an editorial.

The paper says the 2005 budget is "a remarkable bit of fantasy" because it depends on oil revenues from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. "The Senate repeatedly has rejected refuge drilling, recognizing the plan as environmentally damaging and unnecessary," the paper says. "That's not going to change this year. But the administration is banking on a more conservative Congress come January."

The budget estimates that oil companies will pay $2.4 billion for oil and gas leases in ANWR, with half of the revenues going to Alaska and the other half going to the Department of Interior. "That's a curious bit of thinking, too," the paper says. "Existing law would send 90 percent of the revenue to Alaska."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Bush dreams of Alaska's oil (The Seattle Post-Intelligencer 2/5)

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