ipl-logo

Should The United States Drill In Alaska's Wilderness Essay

427 Words2 Pages

Should the United States Drill for Oil in Alaska's Wilderness? Environmentalists would say no because drilling would disturb the Inupiat’s (Eskimo) way of life. Others say drilling for oil would create jobs and lessen our dependency on foreign sources. The U.S. should not drill in Alaska because of economic reasons and environmental reasons. Some people believe that we should drill in Alaska because only 8% of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR was created in 1980 as a refuge for animals) would be used for drilling. Also, federal revenues would be enhanced by billions of dollars. Estimates for ANWR by the Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Interior for the first five years after Congressional approval are 4.2 billion …show more content…

There are many economic reasons such as drilling in the ANWR would not solve gasoline and oil supply problems and not reduce the prices of gasoline and oil. The oil supplies in the ANWR would not significantly change our energy prospects, it only has a six month supply. Also, with the amount of oil consumed as a nation it is not possible to be self-sufficient (Doc C). Also, there are many environmental reasons such as the Coastal Plain where the highest concentration of the oil has been found is home to the Inupiat. Opponents say exploration would only be in 8% of ANWR and actual drilling in 2000 acres (Doc B). However, oil is in 30 pockets and drilling would be more spread out (Doc E). One effect is the eyesore like Prudhoe Bay with pipes and smokestacks and roads. Also, wild places are disappearing. For peace of mind and preservation of animals we have to keep some places on earth pure. People already have their share of the planet. All these economic and environmental reasons make a strong case of why we shouldn't drill for oil in Alaska. Jobs and tax revenue from drilling are only short-term. Drilling in Alaska should be thought of as going to Mars, you never know what is going to happen. If something were to go wrong we could possibly destroy one of America's most beautiful

Show More
Related
1577 Words | 7 Pages

Environmentalists see the movie Avatar as a close depiction of our society's reality with the Alberta oil sands. James Cameron, the director of Avatar, created this blockbuster to bring awareness to a growing issue of Alberta’s oil sands. Undoubtedly, he has achieved this task as this movie shows numerous similarities, but also some differences regarding the current situation with the oil sands. Both show similarities when it comes to cultural and environmental sustainabilities. One environmental sustainabilities that both Avatar and the Alberta oil sands share is that in both situations mining companies decrease biodiversity.

Read More
2524 Words | 11 Pages

The first benefit that should be emphasized is the fact that this project is the definition of shovel ready. As soon as the project is approved nearly ten thousand jobs will be produced overnight. The U.S. State Department's Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement states that over forty two thousand American men and women would have their job directly or indirectly supported by the Keystone Pipeline XL project. (5 Reasons) With the unemployment rate still high, at 5.9% (Databases), any and all jobs are beneficial and over forty thousand new jobs will certainly have an

Read More
903 Words | 4 Pages

Wilder’s essay introduces every possible issue that can arise from Keystone XL pipeline, but my focus is towards climate change. She argues that the construction and refining the dirty oil will increases climates change effect. Why should Americans shoot an arrow that will be a harm to them? We risk reaching higher atmospheric temperature, serious droughts, and floods due to the changing climate. That is not the only way climate change will affect communities, but it will also have an impact on oil spills near communities.

Read More
1437 Words | 6 Pages

Keystone Pipeline How would the Keystone Pipeline help the country through the U.S's economic strain? The Keystone pipeline could prove to play a major role in the survival of the United States. With tensions high in the Middle East and Russia; there is a need for another oil supply should the supply be depleted or withheld. The U.S imports nearly 80% of its oil from foreign countries. This means if these countries were to turn their backs on the U.S, the U.S would be left with 20% of our oil needs.

Read More
2089 Words | 9 Pages

The environmental argument is coming from a clash over the fact they are basically stripping the canadian boreal forest, the path of the pipeline extends across major aquifers, and pipelines tend to leak and destroy surrounding environments. In addition ccording to The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions State, “epartment’s draft SEIS found that oil from the Canadian oil sands is 17 percent more carbon-intensive than the average oil consumed in the United States... It is estimated that the U.S. greenhouse gas footprint would increase by 3 million to 21 million metric tons per year, or around 0.04 percent to 0.3 percent of the 2010 levels, if Keystone is built. Fortunately on November 6, 2015, President Barack Obama’s administration rejected the Keystone Pipeline XL after 7 years of dispute. As mentioned in the Wall Street Journal, Obama stated “the project would not have lowered gas prices, improved energy security or made a meaningful long-term contribution to the economy

Read More
808 Words | 4 Pages

Drilling for oil has caused many environmental issues over the years; now the United States wants to drill in ANWR, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. People should not be able to drill in ANWR because of the long term problems of the native people, the Inupiats, and the environment. Drilling for oil disrupts the environment in many major ways and also changes the Inupiats’ lives. Also, some people think that drilling there will help the economy, but the oil there will only last for a short amount of time. These three main reasons, not to drill in Alaska, will be covered.

Read More
655 Words | 3 Pages

He describes as how the area used for oil drilling will only be 1 to 2 percent of his country’s oil usage daily. He states that industry that is used there will produce so little that barely anything that the risk of the animals in the area is not worth to start industry there. The usage of this area is absolutely not worth and preserving the wildlife there is a better option. Jimmy Carter points a very good point why the industry residing in the area will barely change the oil usage shows how useless building industry on the Arctic Refuge will

Read More
1632 Words | 7 Pages

And drilling and exploring the area will also cause tons of pollution. The only real pro of drilling is that the United States will possibly get access to billions of barrels of oil and could cutback on the amount of oil it imports. Considering the pros and cons of the situation it seems pretty clear that the cons outweigh the pros so, it would be illogical to drill for oil. Background:

Read More
615 Words | 3 Pages

Some individuals believe that using the wilderness for drilling of oil purposes will solve the US and its dependency on foreign oil. Through this article, Democratic congressman Edward J. Markey, alongside Representative Nancy Johnson, discuss the reasons for which they want to save the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, or the ANWR, and other wilderness reserves from being developed on and industrialized. This wildlife reserve has been labeled as being one of the most magnificent reserves found in America. Unfortunately, people want to encroach on this territory and use it to increase the nation’s oil and gas development. This is not the first time that the reserve has been threatened but it is the most extreme.

Read More
813 Words | 4 Pages

Oil is an extremely valuable resource, and oil mining and sales has an irreplaceable benefit in the Canadian

Read More
466 Words | 2 Pages

Since he left office, there have been many proposals to open the Arctic Refuge coastal plain to oil drilling. They’ve all been denied because of the opposition by the American people, including the Gwich’in Athabascan Indians of Alaska and Canada, indigenous people whose culture has depended on the Porcupine caribou herd for thousands of years. The short-term economic gain is not worth destroying their homes. He said the Arctic Refuge may provide 1 to 2 percent of the oil our country consumes each day. We can easily conserve more than that amount by driving more fuel-efficient vehicles, we should just use our resources more wisely instead.

Read More
284 Words | 2 Pages

This place is the largest reserve with sand mixed with the oil but this makes it harder and more expensive to retrieve. Since their population is very small most of their oil and natural gas goes to the US. The US and Canada also have a lot of coal. The coal is retrieved from the Appalachian Mountains, Wyoming and British Columbia.

Read More
780 Words | 4 Pages

Oil in Montana Oil is one of Montana’s several nonrenewable natural resources. It is a resource that can be obtained using multiple methods. Oil is a valuable resource. This resource has a plethora of uses and it is beneficial in both Montana’s and the U.S.’s economies.

Read More
1069 Words | 5 Pages

This would give Canada control and access to thee valuable natural resources, including oil and water. The source should be embraced by Canada so Canada has full jurisdiction on the largest undiscovered oil reserved under that melting ice. Though there is a lack of infrastructure in the Arctic, Canada would see increased economic benefits as oil is one of the most popular energy sources used throughout the world. By accepting the source, Canada would have protection and control over the most pure water source, the Arctic ice. Though this would result in Canada having to use more resources for water security- Canadian coast guard, armed forces, and Rangers- water is the most precious resource in the world, and is very valuable to any civilization.

Read More
524 Words | 3 Pages

Expanding oil and gas drilling, a useless investment Every week or so, we hear in the news about some pipeline or other oil exploitation project. These are always really controversial subjects. They lead to manifestations and petitions from the population. Many governments don’t know how to choose between the environment and the economy. This is a big debate, especially in North America, where many deposits have been found in the last years.

Read More

More about Should The United States Drill In Alaska's Wilderness Essay

Related Topics

Open Document