By David Henschke

A recent wespeak has come out against drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. I also believe that most Wesleyan students consider themselves environmentalists, but I do not understand why that automatically would make Wesleyan students oppose opening up a small part of the refuge for drilling. Drilling for oil in Alaska would not necessarily damage the environment or destroy the lifestyle of native people living in Alaska. 

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) was created by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) of 1980. Congress specifically left open the question of future management of the 1.5 million-acre coastal plain of ANWR because of the area’s oil and gas resources.

So first we are only talking about 1.5 million acres, 8% of the northern coast of the ANWR, on the coastal plain. Oil reserves are estimated to be in the range of 11.6 to 31.5 billion barrels
of oil so we are not talking about an insignificant amount. 

Multi-national corporations may support drilling in the ANWR, but the issue is not about "corporate greed." British Petroleum may be doing their best to open the reserve for drilling, but
many Alaskans support them on the issue. One poll showed that over 70% of Alaskans support the idea. Many Alaskans, including "Native Alaskans," support opening up the ANWR
because they realize that the Prudhoe Bay oil site is declining. Production there has peaked and the ANWR is probably the last place a large amount of oil will be found in America. It is
estimated that anywhere from 250,000 to 735,000 jobs will be created by development. The government (state and federal) would also receive billions of dollars that could be spent to
improve the lives of Alaskans and other Americans. 

In addition, the caribou are not in need of being saved. They travel safely from Canada passing near 89 dry wells drilled by the Canadian government. Also, the caribou weren’t wiped out
by the oil fields in Alaska’s North Slope. With the world watching, the oil industry would be extremely careful to not harm the caribou population. Science has advanced a lot in the past
few decades. When Prudhoe Bay was developed in the 1970’s, about 2 % of the surface area over the field, or 5,000 acres, was covered by gravel for roads and drilling and production
facility sites. If Prudhoe Bay were developed today, gravel would cover less than 2,000 acres. Drilling in the ANWR could happen without destroying the area. 

Americans do consume a lot of energy, but that is not going to change overnight. Opening up the ANWR wouldn’t change the price of oil overnight either since it will take years before the oil reaches the market. What it would do is contribute to our economy and eventually reduce our dependence on foreign oil a bit. Environmental issues are exaggerated on this issue. President Bush is right on this issue and we should support him.
 

Henschke is a member of the class of 2003.