John B. Breaux: “I would argue with anyone that this environment and this ecosystem down here is far more fragile than the ecosystem in…”

“I would argue with anyone that this environment and this ecosystem down here is far more fragile than the ecosystem in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on the Coastal Plain. They have tundra grass that grows during the winter a couple of inches high. We have, down here, an abundant supply of fin fish, of shrimp, of fur-bearing animals; it is a very fragile coastal wetland environment that is incredibly productive. Every single wildlife refuge in Louisiana has oil and gas production on it. We have learned. We have learned by mistakes. We have benefited from science. Now the activity and the way it is conducted is the state-of-the-art technology. To say we have not learned a sufficient amount of information to be able to apply that to an ecosystem that is not nearly as complicated, not nearly as fragile, with much smaller numbers of wildlife in existence, as in this area, I think is to ignore the last 60 years of balanced development that we have experienced.”