Preview

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Dispute

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
957 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Dispute
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, or ANWR, is a refuge geared toward preserving national wildlife in northeastern Alaska. ANWR is about 19 million acres, in space, and contains a potential drilling spot for oil and petroleum. The potential drilling spot is a small area known as the 10-02 Area. It is only 1.5 million acres, or 8%, of ANWR, would even be considered for development (What is ANWR). The controversy surrounding ANWR is whether to drill or not to drill into the 10-02 area. Some people want to preserve the wilderness and to find more fuel-efficient technologies. Others want to lower gas prices and to create more job opportunities. If the government decides to drill for oil, it could possibly lead to about 17 billion barrels of oil, to last the United States for the next 20 years. According to the official ANWR website, Prudhoe Bay is located 60 miles west of ANWR and has produced about 10 billion barrels of oil in the past 20 years. It is currently producing about 1.4 million barrels a day, but is slowly declining; this induces the need for a new source. The northeastern part of ANWR is America’s best opportunity in finding another oil and gas field the size of Prudhoe Bay. The coastal plain of ANWR could produce up to 1.5 million barrels of oil a day and would save the U.S. $14 billion a year in imports (Making the Case). 75% of Alaskans want to drill in the designated ANWR area, 10-02. They feel that it could possibly relieve Americans of their foreign dependency for imported oil and petroleum. The United States currently spends up to $330 billion on foreign oil imports, not including the money used to protect and acquire it. The total area of area10-02 only amounts to 8% of ANWR’s total area, which is 1.5 million acres. Out of the 1.5 million acres considered for development, only 2,000 acres of the Coastal Plain would actually be affected, which is less than half of one percent (Top Ten). Drilling in ANWR would also create anywhere from 250,000 to


Cited: “Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.” Defenders.org. 2008. Defenders of Wildlife. 19 Oct. 2008. . “Making the Case for ANWR”. ANWR.org 2008. Frontier Communications. 19 Oct. 2008. < http://www.anwr.org/Background/Making-the-Case-for-ANWR.php>. “Top Ten Reasons to Support ANWR Development.” ANWR.org 2008. Frontier Communications. 19 Oct. 2008. < http://www.anwr.org/ANWR-Basics/Top-ten-reasons-to-support-ANWR-development.php>. Tsang, Clara. “Arguments Against Drilling in ANWR.” 19 Oct. 2008. . “What Development of Alaska’s Arctic Coastal Plain Means to Louisiana.” ANWR.org 2008. Frontier Communications. 19 Oct. 2008. . “What is ANWR and Where is it?” ANWR.org 2008. Frontier Communications. 19 Oct. 2008. < http://www.anwr.org/ANWR-Basics/What-is-ANWR-and-where-is-it.php>. “Wildlife Impacts from Oil Drilling in the Refuge.” Defenders.org. 2008. Defenders of Wildlife. 19 Oct. 2008. .

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    The Alaskan National Wilderness Refuge has been the topic of political debate for decades. A large, beautiful piece of the world, ANWR as it is often referred to, is not a only a refuge for hundreds of species of birds, fish and mammals, but also a political battleground that is used to ignite the debate on America’s dependence on foreign fuel sources. The possibility of drilling for oil in ANWR brings with it the promise of jobs, dependency from unstable countries for our fuel needs and a boost to our declining economy. However, drilling in this land also brings the possibility of destroying the habitat of birds that migrate to this area yearly, caribou that use this haven as a calving ground, fish that fill the rivers and lakes, as well as grizzly bears, wolves, elk and hundreds of other species that depend on this habitat for food, shelter and safety. There is no debate that there are passionate debates, important facts and amazing possibilities that concern both sides of this argument. And even if it were possible to remove political agenda from the table, it would still be a very difficult debate to win for either side. My hopes are to come to a conclusion that would benefit both parties involved. I strongly feel that any drilling in this area would be detrimental to the surrounding area, as well as bring possible harm to the countless animals, birds and fish that use this safe haven yearly for migration, calving and egg laying and feeding. The decision to either drill or not to drill may not have a direct impact on us now, but in the years to come, good or bad, we will all see the changes that this decision will have resulted in.…

    • 2026 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Off Shore Drilling Outline

    • 1810 Words
    • 8 Pages

    CNS News (2011). New Study Shows That Offshore Drilling Could Make Alaska the Eighth Largest Oil Producer in the World – Ahead of Libya and Nigeria…

    • 1810 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    ANWR pro drilling essay

    • 382 Words
    • 2 Pages

    1. 8% of ANWR considered for drilling, and even this 8% wouldn’t harm the environment and surrounding habitats…

    • 382 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Arctic Wildlife Refuge

    • 429 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Arctic Wildlife Refuge, in Jimmy Carter's opion " is one of America's last truly great wilderness". The former President uses his personal experiances to show why the Arctic Wildlife Refuge should be left be. Also he enacted legislation to help protect the wilderness from further development, with bipartisen support. Jimmy Carter want this area to be protected from industry destroying the natural beuaty, along with keeping around for future gernations to enjoy.…

    • 429 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dwight R Lee Analysis

    • 587 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In his piece, Dwight R. Lee explains that with oil drilling the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, there would be many benefits as compared to the cost. He doesn’t deny that there would be risks associated with the drilling. However, he feels that they do not begin to compare to the benefits. He explains that the main reason that this has become such a hot topic is because of the high prices of gasoline and oil. One company that he looks at is the National Audubon Society. They are against opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling because they feel that it will “destroy the integrity.” This is the same company that owns the 26,000 acre Rainey Wildlife Sanctuary and opens it to drilling. By allowing this drilling, the Audubon Society has received more than $25 million. This has allowed them to own other wildlife and wilderness land.…

    • 587 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the beginning, Game management in Alaska was almost non-existent. It started in 1949 just as a fishery service put into place by the Territorial Legislator. The idea of the this wasn’t to control all the fish, but to influence the federal government 's way of looking at fish management in Alaska. It wasn’t until 1957 when the Alaska Fishery Service was changed to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.…

    • 827 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    For years there has been an environmental debate on whether oil drilling should begin in the largest refuge in the United States, Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge [ANWR]. High potential for oil within the refuge is estimated but the environmental impacts of oil drilling is harmful and destructive. Oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife refuge has pros and cons, however, cons are more significant as it deals with the environment and animals rather than politics and the economy. Pollution is a major consequence of oil drilling, oil spills are also a critical concern that would be devastating to the environment and the animals. Another major concern is climate change as an effect of pollution. The refuge provides a habitat in which…

    • 267 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    An article by Stephen L. Baird titled Offshore Oil Drilling: Buying Energy Independence or Buying Time? Looks at both sides of the issue. Baird cites several polls that show growing support for offshore drilling, and that energy exploration is more important than conservation. Baird states that America imports…

    • 587 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oil Drilling in Alaska

    • 602 Words
    • 3 Pages

    There is believed to be between 5.7 and 16 billion barrels of recoverable crude oil in Alaska. The only thing holding us back from drilling there because it would damage a protected national wildlife refuge in the act killing many animals. The controversy of whether to drill there or not has been going on since around 1977. The last two presidents we had were on different sides of how they felt about the drilling. There are many positives to drilling in Alaska but for every positive there is also a negative. For whether a person is for or against drilling is strongly based on how strongly they feel the importance of every effect of the drilling.…

    • 602 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is a remote area in Alaska owned by the USA. It was stated a national monument in 1996 by Bill Clinton after the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989 caused environmental damage in the Arctic Circle. It was named ‘Area 1002’ being the USA’s last wilderness, but there are talks over whether it should be used to drill oil. This is an environmentally sensitive area as being an untouched wilderness there are many indigenous or reliant species in this habitat. The Caribou is one species who migrate here and would be affected if the area became a drilling site and there was environmental degradation from oil leaks, CO2 emissions from the rig etc. The USGS have estimated 4.3-11.8 billion barrels of oil are recoverable, and this would only contribute between 0.4% and 1.2% of the world’s oil market, so the large costs would potentially be for little benefit.…

    • 601 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Ethics of Fracking

    • 1436 Words
    • 6 Pages

    On April twentieth, 2010 one of the biggest tragedies in the Gulf of Mexico occurred. This disaster was not a hurricane or any other natural disaster, it was an oil drilling rig off the coast of Louisiana. The rig exploded, claiming eleven lives and acting as a catalyst for the largest oil spill in history. This catastrophes fault was laid upon BP, or British Petroleum, who owned the oil rig but the fault also lies upon government regulators, inspectors and engineers, all the oversights and errors, both small and large. In the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, five million barrels of oil were released into the gulf, threatening the sea life of the area for years and dealing a hard blow to the economy in the Gulf of Mexico. (Wikipedia) With a calamity of this size now in the past it is now possible to question the risk involved with extracting oil. With the instability of the methods the country uses to gain energy, are there alternatives to create a better future for all without damaging the earth in the process?…

    • 1436 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oil Drilling in the Arctic

    • 1013 Words
    • 5 Pages

    For an example of what your heavy machinery would do to the refuge, just look sixty miles west to Prudhoe Bay, one of the largest oil fields in North America. This giant oil complex has turned one thousand square miles of tundra into an industrial zone containing miles of roads and pipelines, over one thousand wells,…

    • 1013 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The reason that the drilling was needed was to reduce gas cost, due to the George Bush imposed ban on the drilling that done in 1990. (Mason, 2010) Drilling will also create more jobs. The reason against it will be because we do not know the full extinct of the impact of drilling off the coast and it can cause environmental problems. I am still up in the air as to my decision, because one it is good for the economy which is good. But on the other hand, it can destroy our ecosystem. Drilling can create an imbalance in the ocean water ecosystem breach our water supply, wo with this I may be against it, Because I like to know what I am…

    • 125 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many people are debating how to best meet energy needs in the United States. Some argue that the country must decrease its dependence on oil and invest in alternative sources of energy, such as wind and solar power. Others argue that changing to new power sources is unnecessary and expensive. They state that the United States should search for oil in Alaska, the Gulf Coast, and other currently unexplored areas within the country. I will state my opposition on this issue.…

    • 637 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In U.S., offshore drilling is a controversial topic due to its two-side effect, it had been banned since 1980s, but in 2010, the president Obama decided to Lifted restrictions and opened vast expanses of American coastlines to oil and natural gas drilling to reduce gas prices in U.S., whether it is necessary to allow the offshore drilling has become a troublesome problem. This paper will discuss the advantage and disadvantage of the offshore drilling.…

    • 1336 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays