For the previous postings, I have focused the discussion of the off-shore drilling debate on the beautiful blue waters of the Gulf Coast region. This area has been in the majority of news headlines regarding off-shore drilling because of the Deepwater Horizon spill. However, another beautiful hidden treasure lies amongst the controversy of this topic.
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge are federally protected lands nearing 20,000,000 acres. In 1960, the lands became federally protected after Alaska gained its statehood and industrialism began to move into the state. The refuge is home to several hundreds of species, many of which have struggled to survive outside of the protected lands. Shortly after its federal protection, lobbyists and politicians in Alaska became curious of the oil reserves beneath the great white state’s frozen ground. One particularly rich area was a portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which was dubbed “1002 area”. 1002 area consists of a small pocket of the entire Refuge, 1,500,000 acres of Alaskan terrain, which is home to the largest caribou calving grounds in the United States. The animals thrive on the lands when they do not have human interference or live in environmental pollutants. The Refuge has worked hard to protect the lands and keep them remote by limiting roadways. The only human inhabitants are native settlements which consist of less than one hundred people.
Over the last two decades bills have bounced around Senate and the House of Representatives trying to pass oil exploration in the region. When President George W. Bush was elected to office, he not only ended the moratorium on off-shore drilling that had been in effect for several decades but he also pushed for exploration drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Drilling in the region continues to be a controversial matter in United States politics. In the coming posts I will discuss the economic and ecological effects that could arise from drilling in the Refuge.
I’m really glad that you’re going to be talking about this issue in regards to drilling. I recently watched a documentary about this and the people that inhabit that land and became really interested in the topic. To me, it is awful and detrimental to our environment to drill in those lands. For those who inhabit the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the oil wells are demeaning to them as people, as they have occupied and survived off of that land for centuries. Additionally, the wildlife is put at severe risk. Hopefully this dangerous drilling will be put to an end soon; this is a refuge we can't afford to lose. I can’t wait to read/learn more about this topic!
ReplyDeleteI have to admit, at first I was all for “DRILL BABY DRILL”. It seemed like a quick and easy way to avoid dependence on the Middle East for our oil supply, but that’s just it: it’s quick and easy. After reading your posts it became overwhelmingly eveident that the United States absolutely needs to find another source for fuel. The solution to our oil problems should not be “where to get more oil” but rather “how to stop using oil altogether”. Our environment has only one life and humans are smart and very capable of finding another energy source. The amount of fossil fuels we are burning is changing the entire make up of our oceans and the negative effects are frightening. Not only would our abandonment of oil be beneficial for the environment but it could create jobs in the engineering market. There are many nonrenewable sources on Earth that do not involve the complete destruction of ecosystems. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a delicate area of land that DOES NOT need to be wasted on the piggish American people who just need more gas to buy more food to get more obese.
ReplyDeleteI’m blogging about the happenings and effects of onshore drilling as well, but I haven’t gotten into the issue of drilling in Alaska yet. I think it is ridiculous that the oil companies and government are seriously experimenting and even strongly considering drilling in ours nations last virtually untouched landscape. We have begun drilling all around the continental United States and I hope we can at least keep the greedy oil drillers out of Alaska, our only true frontier.
ReplyDeleteThe animals and environment up there is so reliant on clean water and little pollution, and this drilling could severely upset that balance. I had the picture you posted as the background of my blog but you couldn’t read my posts so it has been changed but I still love that picture. There are few pictures I could truly write a thousand words about and this is one of them. The contrast between the animals and landscape and the massive drill in the background exemplifies the destruction we are causing. I believe it is a snapshot of the film Gasland by Josh Fox when he is talking about the oil company’s drills and pipeline that directly inhibit the movement of the reindeer. This oil line makes it difficult for the reindeer to roam and reproduce. The list of effects of drilling is neverending.
This is a topic I knew little about before writing this blog, however, I'm finding it more intriguing than the Gulf Coast drama. I plan on writing on this topic more!
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