Drilling for Oil in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge

The United States should not drill for oil in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge because it would harm the environment, disrupt the animals, and destroy plants. The United States Congress created the Artic National Wildlife Refuge in 1980 (To drill or not to drill?: 6). The Artic National Wildlife Refuge is also known as ANWR (To drill or not to drill?: 6). The Artic National Wildlife Refuge is 19.6 million acres of wilderness (Scalzo, Jim Lo.: 37). Of the 19.6 million acres in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge 17.5 million acres are permanently closed to development. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is often called the "American Serengeti" (Defenders of Wildlife). The Artic National Wildlife Refuge lies in the northeast corner of Alaska (Predger, David). The entire refuge lies north of the Arctic Circle and 1,300 miles south of the North Pole (Predger, David). The Artic National Wildlife Refuge is the size of South Carolina (Predger, David). If ANWR was a state it would be bigger than ten other states (Predger, David). If the United States did drill for oil in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge there is an estimated 10.4 billion barrels on the North Slope (One state's free lunch: 28-32). The North Slope covers 89,000 square miles (Experts say Alaska Oil Drilling Hurts Wildlife: 43). The North Slope extends from the top of the Brooks Range to the Artic coast (Experts say Alaska Oil Drilling Hurts Wildlife: 43). The United States Congress wants to drill for oil and natural gas in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge (Battles loom in

Congress Over ANWR.: 2) The United States Congress is split in half, give or take, on whether to drill for oil in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge or not to drill (Schneiderman, Emma: 4). Approximately 1.5 million barrels of oil a day are being produced from the fields that are already tapped (Predger, David).

Another reason why the United States should not drill in the Artic National Wildlife Reserve is because it would harm the animals living in the reserve. Another indirect effect of oil drilling in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge is global warming would increase (One state's free lunch: 28- 32). The Porcupine River herd of 129,000 caribou gathers annually on the Coastal Plain to bear and nurse their young. Polar bears rely on the Coastal Plain of the Refuge as their most important on-land denning habitat on American soil. There are many types of wildlife in the refuge. These animals include caribou, polar bears, musk oxen, millions of birds, wolves, foxes, black bears, grizzly bears, and several species of whales (One state's free lunch: 28-32). Musk oxen, grizzly bears, wolves, wolverines, foxes, golden eagles, and snowy owls gather here to hunt and den. In the fall, the Coastal Plain of the refuge supports up to 300,000 snow geese which detour to feed from their nesting grounds in Canada. Millions of other birds use the Arctic Refuge to nest and as a critical staging area before journeying through every state. Wolves, foxes, and musk oxen raise their young there (To drill or not to drill?: 6). Golden eagles and snowy owls nest there (To drill or not to drill?: 6). Enormous herds of caribou and moose roam there (To drill or not to drill?: 6). The vast artic plain is home to grizzly bears, polar bears, and black bears (To drill or not to drill?:

6). Oil development has already affected caribou herd geographical distribution and reproductive success (Experts say Alaska Oil Drilling Hurts Wildlife:

43). The increased human presence has attracted scavenging animals and birds that also prey on nestlings, eggs and bird species (Experts say Alaska Oil Drilling Hurts Wildlife: 43). Bowhead whales have changed their fall migration pattern to avoid the noise of seismic exploration activities (Experts say Alaska Oil Drilling Hurts Wildlife: 43). Scientists use seismic waves to determine if there is oil under a certain place of land. If the United States was to drill in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge they would have to make pipelines and oil-drilling platforms to get the oil out and to pump it to where it needs to go. Pipelines and oil-drilling platforms will harm caribou, polar bears, and millions of migrating birds (Come on in.: 38). Whenever some country drills for oil it is more likely than not for that country to have an oil spill. Oil spills are deadly to animals, hard to clean up, and it takes the land thousands of years to recover. The United States has already had one major oil spill off the coast of Alaska in Prince William Sound. If another large oil spill occurred on the water it would have a substantial effect on whales and other marine wildlife (Experts say Alaska Oil Drilling Hurts Wildlife: 43). There are over 130 bird species that find breeding, nesting, or resting places on the coastal plain (Defenders of Wildlife).

All of the oil will be pumped down the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline no matter what. Then it is loaded onto tankers and shipped out of Prince William Sound, but the tankers

that the oil is being shipped in are at an enormous risk for having an oil spill. This is because most of the ships that pick up the oil are not doubled hulled. The vast majority

of oil shipped from Alaska is carried in aging tankers with higher risk of leaking. Only 3 of 26 have double-hulls and those are more than 20 years old. There are three main oil

companies who carry oil out of Alaska; Phillip, BP, and Exxon. The first of Phillip's four new Millennium Class double-hulled tankers to be built was christened in October, 1999, and started carrying North Slope crude oil in 2001. The first of BP's three newly ordered double-hulled tankers entered service in 2003. Exxon has yet to order any double-hulled tankers.

The Inpuiat (Eskimo) people living on the North Slope are primarily dependent on the bowhead whale and marine resources. They have vigorously opposed offshore oil development in the Arctic Ocean for decades, including in the area off the coast of the Arctic Refuge due to concerns about impacts to their subsistence resources from noise disturbance and oil spills. There are about 250 residents in the village of Kaktovik on Barter Island on the north boundary of the refuge. Although the community of Kaktovik supported wilderness protection for the Arctic Refuge until the early 1980s, they have come to support onshore drilling. They average about 100 caribou harvested annually.

There are also several tribes that live in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge. One of the tribes is called the Gwich'in tribe. This tribe is known as the caribou tribe (The Artic National Wildlife Refuge). They live in Northeast Alaska and also in Northwest Canada and have depended on the Porcupine River caribou herd to maintain their culture (The Artic National Wildlife Refuge). Gwich'in