ANWR Drilling - A Simple Guide

Every time an election is held for any office, the subject of ANWR drilling eventually comes up in discussion. To understand the debate the overall issue of ANWR drilling, the impacts of drilling there must be understood.

ANWR is the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It's a little more than 19 million acres in the North Slope in Alaska. The area became a federal protected area in 1960.  Since then more land has been added. The resources cannot be obtained while the land is protected.  But the land was protected so the resources could be obtained. What good are resources that can never be tapped?

When conversationalists lost the battle to block the Alaskan pipeline they turned their attention to stopping ANWR drilling. They turned their attention to the wilderness areas in Alaska that were untouched by the pipeline. This happened in 1976. Jimmy Carter created over 100 million acres of national parks in Alaska, stipulating that drilling in ANWR could only happen with the approval of the Congress. The fight was on from both sides. One side was angry at Carter for requiring Congressional approval for drilling, while the other side was angry at him for even allowing the possibility of drilling in the area.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service recommended opening ANWR drilling in November of 1986. It proposed a trade of ANWR land for land owned by Eskimo tribes to accomplish this. Environmentalists stepped in with concerns about the movement of caribou. Canada and the US signed a treaty to give each nation a say in what was done in the area. That effectively ended any action on the 1986 recommendation.

There continues to be an argument over drilling in ANWR. Those for it say the oil and natural gas are needed. Not only will it create a larger world supply, but it would help America drastically decrease the oil imported from foreign sources. What many people don't realize is that a vast majority of US oil comes from Russia and South America.  Both are rather stable oil suppliers.

Those against ANWR drilling continue to point to environmental concerns. These are the same types of groups that block the use of salt to melt snow on Oregon roads in the winter.  The result is a drastic increase in the number of accidents and human lives lost.  But the plants around the roads can thrive in the salt free soil.

ANWR drilling will continue to be a major discussion.  Even if drilling begins, people will try to stop it and the cycle will continue.