Drilling in Alaska

Gabe Flanagan

As Americans energy is a very important resource for our everyday lifestyle. The United States is known as the most wasteful and resource consuming country in the world, but this problem is not necessarily the fault of the common American citizen. The United States has developed in such ways that in order to keep up with the times and compete with others you must consume these resources. For example: A business is more likely to hire a man who drives to work every day in his/her car and has a cell-phone, rather than the environmentally friendly person who takes public transit and does not have a convenient way to be contacted. This is because a person with these possessions that are not necessarily environmentally friendly will be more dependable. With these growing amount of “necessities” that Americans are expected to have, our usage of natural resources continues to grow. Oil has become the world’s most precious natural resource, and we see this resource becoming scarcer in front of our very eyes. Technology has been developed in order to preserve the world’s supply of oil, but not all of these technologies are useful to all citizens. The blue-collar worker who needs to haul equipment to work each day cannot depend on the engine of a hybrid car to accomplish this task just as the family of six cannot depend on small energy efficient cars such as a prius to fit everyone comfortably. Americans can all agree that this situation of limited supplies of oil, and with countries as large as China becoming more developed by the day, we will someday have to face this crisis, or has it already come? The question becomes to what length Americans will go in order to preserve their energy inefficient lifestyles. The possibility of drilling in Alaska has become a largely debated topic with another oil crisis hanging over American’s heads. When looking at the facts Americans would make money and oil prices would go down, but only for a limited amount of time. Is it worth it to drill for oil in this wildlife refuge if we will only benefit it for a few years?


The earth is not able to sustain a life-promoting climate with the carnage that humans are implementing on the planet. We see this inability to sustain through recent scientific discoveries such as global warming, and other examples of the earth’s responses to our actions. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) was set up by the United States government in order to protect the specific environment which this area encompasses.


Due to locating of oil fields near and surrounding the ANWR it shows promise of containing large amounts of oil, making it a popular prospect for oil companies. The location of the ANWR is fairly distant from most civilization in Alaska. Many see this as another reason that drilling should be allowed in this area. People fail to remember that this area was protected in order to preserve the environment and animals which thrive there in case of situations such as this where the land was being threatened. Reference


The 16.1 million acres of the ANWR contains roughly about 7.06 billion barrels of oil, approximately the amount that was needed in the United States alone in 2005, a number which has most certainly increased since that time. Reference. It is true that profit would be made from drilling in the ANWR, but is money a good enough reason for Americans to make the decision to drill in a place people have worked so hard to protect? In my opinion, the environmental cost would not equal that of the profit which will be made from drilling in the ANWR.


The ANWR is home to unique wildlife, wilderness, and recreational values and it is not worth it to through away areas such as this away in order to support out gas hungry habits. After the land has been exhausted the ANWR will be left with many roads, refineries and pipelines, all of which will not promote the wildlife and natural habitat that it was designed to protect. As Americans we are expected to be leaders in the world, we should be using this money that we apparently have to set up a method of extraction in Alaska and put it into the development of alternative forms of energy. This process of drilling may benefit us for a year, but then what, we will find ourselves in a similar situation with even more limited possibilities for courses of action. Now is a chance to stand up for the “green revolution” that so many Americans claim to support, now is a chance for you to acknowledge that the environment is more important than yourself.
Kotchen, Matthew J. "Should We Drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge? An Economic Perspective." Sience Direct (2007). Www.ScienceDirect.com. Web.
Gelb, Bernard A. "ANWR Development: Economic Impacts." (2005). Www.cnie.org. Web.