The Impact Of Alaskan Drilling

America shouldn’t drill in Alaska because it doesn’t really help our economy. In document B it states that “ If oil is discovered less than 2,000 acres of the 150 million acres of the coastal plain would be affected.” The oil from the ANWR possibly created up to 735,000 jobs because they are building a new oil refinery and they need places to get

The world, as we know it, is in the midst of having an oil crisis. Our nation starves and bends at the will of this dreadful calamity. Our deprivation for this atrocious corruption has led us to look for oil deposits in the Alaskan Wilderness. The US needs oil and by drilling for oil on our own land, we would help our economy, but in doing so would destroy the beauty of the wilderness and harm many others. The matter on hand is that should we drill for oil in Alaska’s wilderness? My opinion and answer to this question would simply be no. The United States of America should not drill for oil in the Alaskan wilderness.

Oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a very controversial topic. On one end you have the people who want to drill for oil to help out our economy, and on the other end there are the environmentalists and the Alaskan natives who do not want their land destroyed. Our economy needs help; oil prices keep rising, gas prices have reached an all time high, and America is depending too much on foreign trade. Drilling for oil in Alaska will solve these problems. There are ways of drilling without disturbing the environment and keeping the animals in their original habitat.

Many seafood companies prices fluctuate because a whole number of reasons. Have you ever thought why though? They even have to take some foods completely off their menus. A lot of the time this is because of an oil spill that kills so much of the environment that a lot of the sea animals die or even become endangered. The BP Deepwater Horizon spill in 2010 is a great example of this. It spilled 200 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico in 87 days. The area of the spill alone had over 8,000 species, which already had 39 endangered species and added 14 new species to the endangered list. Not only did we lose animals but “Eleven people died as a result of the accident and 17 others were injured”(BP Staff).

Environmentalists are one the biggest critics against the notion of increasing domestic oil drilling. By increasing the amount of drilling we do in the United States, we increase the risk of disasters like the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Disasters are hardly the only source of economic damage either, to find oil reserves under the ocean, seismic waves are generated into the ground. These waves bounce off the ground back up to the ship, where computers and scientist can use the results to make educated guesses on whether or not oil is located under the surface. These seismic waves can wreak havoc with marine animals like whales; where in one case over 100 whales beached themselves to get away from the painful experience (Nixon). Using seismic waves does not even guarantee that oil might be located underneath the surface, the only way to tell is to actually drill into the potential finds causing even more destruction for what might be for no gain. Once oil is found and drilling has begun, the amount of damage done to the environment can become unimaginable. The recent example is that of the Deepwater

The question is should we drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve. While there are downfalls to drilling the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve, the benefits to the country and to Alaska far outweigh them. These benefits include lower gas prices, more jobs, energy independence.

Lee, Professor of Economics. In his argument claims, “that the Economic of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge oil is so great that even environmentalist should agree to drilling, and they would probably stand to benefit.” There would be many benefits as compared to the cost. He does not deny the fact that there would be risks associated with the drilling. In spite of this, he feels that they do not begin to compare the benefits. Lee explains that the main reason that this has become such an intense issue is because of high prices of oil and gasoline. Lee goes on to explain that technology has having fewer risks involved with the drilling. This is why it is an important issue. Drilling would help reduce the U.S. dependence on foreign sources. Richard Pombo, a Republican from California argued that “there is no logical reason” to oppose ANWR drilling (Easton, 2009).

Has anyone been to Alaska, or will plan a trip to Alaska? Well it’s a land of cold dark weather that doesn’t appeal to most, but Alaska has been a major topic to the government that affects me and you. The Alaska tundra has been in question to drill oil or to protect the precious environment there. Should the Alaska tundra be opened for oil drilling?

Thesis: If the United States is going to choose to conserve energy responsibly, then our government's energies should not be focused on developing oil in the ANWR, but rather on the topics of conservation through higher fuel efficiency standards in vehicles and by developing alternative energy sources. Conservation, fuel efficiency and alternative energy sources are the solutions that will lead us to a long term and sustainable energy future.

Offshore drilling is a topic of extreme debate and argument and one of the most debated parts of that is whether or not it benefits the economy in the U.S. One of the first things to note is that stopping offshore drilling could potentially damage the U.S. economy, and therefore how much energy we can overall use. According to Mason, Joseph R., author of, "The Oil Industry Supports Many Louisiana and Gulf Region Economies", we can see the statement, "the moratorium would produce broad economic losses within the Gulf and throughout the nation as a whole". We can gather, from this, that ceasing offshore drilling/offshore oil production, could potentially harm the U.S. economy, and as I said before the economy being damaged overall decides

Also would be hurting wildlife. Drilling in Alaska would allow many people to start their new career of working on the pipeline. I see it as being similar to the gold rush in the mid 1800’s. In the mid 1800’s many people fled out west to California on the hunt for gold. Gold was extremely rare but if one person found gold they would have money to go back home and support their families. This situation would be similar except it would oil. Drilling in Alaska would drastically change the unemployment rate. We can harness so much energy the United States has to offer and the first step is to get the oil that we already own. The unemployment rate has been declining and increasing constantly. Harvesting oil on the United States grounds would create jobs for thousands.

Another reason against drilling much research has shown that all the oil that will be produced will only last for about six months. The fact that the British Petroleum has greater potential to produce more oil and natural gasses (Markey 2004) than ANWR so why bother with it , supporting the case that drilling is pointless. Then there is the percentage that after oil production of ANWR, the foreign oil dependency will only drop from 56% to 50% (Markey 2004).Then the oil produced would reach the market ten years later after it was produced, leaving the gas price decrease to one percent(Lamar and Markey 12). There was also the reality of natural gases. ANWR does not confirm any sign of them, when President Bush ordered exploration for natural gasses (Klyza and Ford-Martin 1).Again proving drilling pointless.

America should drill in Alaska for oil because it's good for the economy. Document C says the United States uses more oil than it could find domestically, even if we were to drill on all public lands. The United States uses 25% to 30% of the oil produced

America Should Reject the Oil Businesses Plan and Permanently Protect The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Oil Drilling has many effects on the environment from the air we breathe to the oceans that inhabit many species. While one of the outcomes of oil drilling is money, it is forgotten that money won’t help repair all of the damage that is done to mother nature. Not only does the outcome of drilling for fossil fuels affect the oceans, rainforest, etc. it also has an effect on local business’ and the health of humans. If people want change, they need to be the