Douglas Brinkley, best-selling author and celebrity history professor, let his allegiance to Big Green get the best of his scholarly self-control in a recent hearing before the House Natural Resources Committee. That was unusual for the cool and razor-tongued Rice University professor now embarking upon an expanded career as the “go-to guy” for the Left Media to opine on environmental matters for the Chattering Class.
While testifying against legislation that would open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to exploration for oil and gas, Brinkley lost all objectivity arguing about a key clause in ANWR’s founding document: did it, or did it not ban oil drilling from the very beginning?
And does it matter that ANWR is estimated to hold over 10 billion barrels of oil worth $1 trillion to our economy at today’s prices?
Brinkley answered yes to the first and no to the second, recommending the area be designated a hands-off national monument instead. That pitted him against the bill’s co-sponsor, Alaska’s crusty Republican Rep. Don Young.
Observers said the professor seemed almost obsessed with winning against the second most senior Republican in Congress for credibility’s sake- after all, he had just written a history of conservation in Alaska, and he ought to know.
He ought to, but others say he didn’t.
The advance copy of Brinkley’s testimony contained his assertion that President Eisenhower banned oil drilling in his 1960 Public Land Order 2214, “Establishing the Arctic National Wildlife Range” (“Range” was changed to “Refuge” in 1980).
Young was not pleased. He expressed this in the blunt way for which the former Yukon riverboat captain is widely noted.
He fumed as he addressed the committee chairman, Rep Doc Hastings, R-Wash.: “Mr. chairman, I will tell you if you ever want to see an exercise in futility, it’s this hearing. That side’s already made up its mind. This side has already made up its mind. And I call it garbage, Dr. Rice, that comes from the mouth…”
The professor broke in. “It’s Dr. Brinkley. Rice is a university. I know you went to Yuba College and you couldn’t graduate.”
Some were surprised that Young didn’t jump down from the dais and throttle his adversary over this patent falsehood (Young earned an associate’s certificate from Yuba, served in the Army, and graduated from Chico State), but he only said gruffly, “I’ll call you anything I want while you sit in that chair.”
Taken aback, the professor blurted, “Pardon?”
“You just be quiet now,” said Young.
Hastings tried to bring order, “Mr. Brinkley, you were invited here to testify and we look forward to your testimony.”
“But he called me Mr. Rice. I needed to correct the record.”
“Mr. Brinkley!”
The real loser was the point of contention, which is of considerable interest to Big Green advocates trying to defeat the Republicans’ “Alaskan Energy for American Jobs Act,” H.R. 3410.
If ANWR’s founding intent was to preserve the Range in pristine condition forever, they had an argument of considerable weight. Conversely, if Eisenhower, the founder, intended to embrace oil development, it could weaken Big Green’s campaign to kill H.R. 3410.
So which did Eisenhower actually have in mind? I asked Dan Kish, former chief of staff of the Hastings panel and a veteran of decades of ANWR fights in Congress.
“It’s easy to misread the text of Public Land Order 2214 and conclude ‘no oil,'” said Kish. “ANWR’s purpose is clearly stated: ‘preserving unique wildlife, wilderness and recreational values.’ The word ‘oil’ does not appear in the order at all. Case closed.
“But it’s not closed. The list of developments banned and those permitted is quite clear, but only if you know the law and history. Eisenhower’s land order contains a ban on activities covered by ‘the mining laws’ – as in opening a new mine.
“However, that clause also specifically allowed developments covered by ‘the mineral leasing laws’ – like oil, gas and coal projects. So, oil development was allowed by the founder from the start. It takes a sharp-eyed reader to get the words right and a sharp mind to follow the clues to the two appropriate sets of laws and see what they say.”
Brinkley came away from the hearing with more street cred and his version of events for the Left Media to continue regurgitating without question.
Young came away with another joke about rodeo with the college guys.
Examiner Columnist Ron Arnold is executive vice president of the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise.
