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http://home.att.net/~meditation/ANWR.html

The costly symbolism of ANWR

The United States is in serious energy crisis today,
in part because of the triumph of symbolism over
substance in the United States Congress. Our political
pundits have elevated the 19.6 million acre Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge, better known as ANWR (see map),
into a sacred mythical land that no man dare tread upon,
least they spoil its great natural beauty forever
(picture of drilling area). In reality, any future ANWR
oil exploration would only take place in the desolate,
treeless area designated as "10-02," which represents
just 8% of ANWR's land area, and which encompasses the
Coastal Plain north of the Sadlerochit Mountains. Of
that 8% of ANWR land, federal law states that only 2,000
surface acres could ever be used for actual drilling
purposes. This 10-02 area was set aside specifically for
oil and gas exploration and is not legally defined as a
"wilderness" or a "refuge." None of Alaska's ANWR region
is legally defined as a "park." We allow roads,
campgrounds, hundreds of toilets, hotels, and hoards of
tourists to violate the sanctity of Yellowstone (2.2
million acres) and Yosemite (.76 million acres), which
are both legally defined as "parks," but do allow much
needed oil drilling on just 2,000 acres of ANWR, which
has 3.7 times the land area of the State of Massachusetts
(5.3 million acres).

Does any member of the United States Congress really
believe that drilling for oil on just 2,000 acres will
destroy all wildlife and vegetation, leaving behind
nothing but a smoldering toxic wasteland? Using
directional drilling techniques, one single oil drilling
station can snake underground pipes out to 8 miles in all
directions, so the tiny footprint of oil recovery
operations in ANWR would be inconsequential to the local
ecology. When the oil is gone and the drilling equipment
removed, any evidence that there was once oil exploration
at ANWR would soon vanish. Drilling in ANWR would be
like throwing a single peanut on the wall-to-wall carpet
of a very large living room floor; hardly a cataclysmic
event.

Why are we paying Canada, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia so
much money for imported oil when we could be producing
that oil ourselves and giving Americans high paying jobs
in the process? Some of the same environmentalists who
oppose ANWR drilling support wild solar power schemes
that would cover 21.76 million acres (34,000 square
miles) of our beautiful Southwestern desert with of solar
panels. Solar panels on a roof are fine, but when you
cover virgin land with them you create a DEAD ZONE that
will remain dead until the panels are removed and the
land has time to heal itself. Other environmentalists
support the building of thousands of wind turbines, which
in addition to being unsightly are very effective bird
and bat killing devices that end the lives of many
thousands of our flying friends every year. Why is
damage done by solar and wind power schemes politically
correct, but benignly extracting oil from Alaska
politically taboo?

The Congressional Research Service (see 76kb pdf)
estimates that if oil recovery was allowed in the 10-02
area of ANWR, it would be worth at least $94.8 billion in
federal income taxes and $42.8 billion in royalties,
totaling $138 billion. This study uses the most
conservative estimate of recoverable oil; 10.4 billion
barrels. The actual oil treasure could climb to well
over 20 billion barrels as new discoveries and
improvements in oil drilling technology increase the size
of extractable reserves. Oil drilling is supported by
the Alaskan Native communities that live in ANWR, the
State Government of Alaska, and over 75% of Alaskan
residents. Declaring a huge area of land untouchable to
oil recovery at a time of national energy crisis is
irresponsible energy policy. As long as so many American
political leaders place symbolism above substance, we
will never solve our strategic national energy problems.
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SEE http://home.att.net/~meditation/bio-fuel-hoax.html
- Why biofuels are a total global disaster, and how
clean nuclear energy can provide 10,000 years of $2.00
per gallon synthetic gasoline.

Christopher Calder

There isn't squat in ANWR that would do anything to lower the price of oil.
Get over it. The high cost of oil has very little to do with supply and
demand. Get over that too. You must be one of the most gullible fools ever
to waste so much time on nothing but total BS.

Get a life.