Environmentally Responsible Energy Productionin Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)
Environmentally responsible energy production in a sliver of Alaska's vast Coastal Plain will reduce America's dependence on unreliable foreign sources of oil by providing America with a homegrown, secure and stable supply of energy. It will create new jobs for Americans here in America. Environmentally responsible energy production is supported by labor unions, farm groups and others in a bipartisan coalition that includes Alaskan Eskimos who live in the area proposed for energy production.
According to legislation most recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, no more than 2,000 acres out of the 19-million-acre refuge will be utilized for energy production. Likewise, in order to ensure that energy production does not have any significant adverse impact on the environment, the best environmental technology and American ingenuity will be required for exploration and development. Exploration will be limited to the winter months between November and May to protect wildlife. Ice roads and airstrips will protect the sensitive tundra. In addition, strict rules will be mandated to protect streams, rivers, springs, and wetlands.
ANWR represents America's single greatest onshore prospect for oil. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that ANWR contains a mean expected value of 10.4 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil. At peak production, ANWR could produce more oil than any U.S. state, including Texas and Louisiana.
In 1980, President Carter and Congress set aside 1.5 million acres of ANWR's Northern Coastal Plain for potential oil development. This area is often called the "1002 Area" because it was set aside in Section 1002 of the law. The U.S. House of Representatives has endorsed the environmentally-responsible development of ANWR twice in the past four years.
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3 comments:
In my petroleum class that I am taking this semester, the man that discovered the drilling method that allows us to take gas out of the Barnett shale said, "oil is found in the minds of men." The more bickering we do over here as to whether or not the caribou will be upset by the drilling, the more money we are giving the Saudis...
I know I've already told you this, but I loved your letter about the drilling in ANWR. You got a lot of good research and made a good argument in your letter to the editor. I'm excited to see what the op-ed looks like!
I really like the subject you wrote about and the article itself as well. However, I think that you should back it up with more facts. It is a good subject to write about, but it is one of those things that you have to back up what you are talking about to give yourself more credibility. Other then that, your article is great. Good job.
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