Anwr Drilling
March 13th, 2009 | by myarticlenetwork |ANWR drilling is a sore subject. It’s constantly discussed and debated, particularly during elections. The issue cannot be resolved unless the impacts of drilling at ANWR are completely explored.
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, also known as ANWR, occupies 19 million acres on Alaska’s North Slope. In 1960 the government named it a protected area and has added even more land since then. Part of the purpose for protecting the area is to protect the resources there. That seems a bit odd since while protected the resources can’t be exploited Is protecting resources good when it blocks the use of those resources?
When conversationalists lost the battle to block the Alaskan pipeline they turned their attention to stopping ANWR drilling. Their hope was to preserve areas that hadn’t been spoiled, in their opinion, by the pipeline. It took place in 1976. In 1980 when president Carter created 104 million acres of Alaskan national parks, he blocked drilling in ANWR unless Congress approved it. The fight was on from both sides. One side was angry at Carter for requiring Congressional approval for drilling, while the other side was angry at him for even allowing the possibility of drilling in the area.
In 1986 the Fish and Wildlife Service suggested swapping some land with Eskimos in order to open ANWR drilling. Environmentalists stepped in with concerns about the movement of caribou. Canada and the US agreed that Canada would be consulted before any drilling took place, which ended discussion of the proposed land swap.
People keep arguing over the possibility of ANWR drilling. Oil taken from the area would improve national security by cutting dependence on foreign oil, say the pro drilling people. What many people don’t realize is that a vast majority of US oil comes from Russia and South America. Both are rather stable oil suppliers.
The people who don’t want ANWR drilling keep talking about the environment. These are the people who would rather humans be at risk than disturb the lives of some minuscule population of tree slug.
ANWR drilling will continue to be a major discussion. Even if drilling begins, people will try to stop it and the cycle will continue.
http://drillingnow.com/
Tags: against anwr drilling, anwr drilling, anwr oil drilling