Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AS) announced yesterday that she would introduce a bill that would allow oil companies to directionally drill beneath the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) from outside the surface boundaries. Activists spent eight years battling the previous regime over the small amount of reserves within the Refuge, and declared the proposal unacceptable. Drilling the Refuge has become a cause celebre among conservatives and a surefire way of gaining support from the America's delusional right-wing. Directional drilling from outside the refuge boundaries would require exploration and production drilling from farther away than any wells have been drilled before. One million barrels a day by 2025 is a spit in the ocean at the increasing rate of our current fossil fuel consumption. Meanwhile up north, BP reported a spill of unknown proportions at Prudhoe Bay. A twenty four inch diameter pipe ruptured shutting down 11 wells producing 1300 to 1400 barrels of oil a day. Leaking was stopped on Wednesday and a clean up is under way.[map credit: Anchorage Daily News]