A friend and I were arguing yesterday on whether we should drill for oil in the Artic National Wildlife Refuse (ANWR). He took his usual Republican position that we should and I took my Democratic position saying we shouldn’t. My friend, of course, is dead wrong. My fear is not only what drilling will do to the environment. My major concern is that the projected 4.3-11.8 billion barrels of recoverable oil will lessen the sense of urgency to find renewables and discourage conservation. Discovering and developing renewable energy sources should be the
main pillar in any federal energy mandate.
As you can imagine, the folks in Alasks are champing at the drill bit to expand drilling on the North Slope where we’ve pumping oil out of the ground for decades. Indeed, a story today in the Achorage Daily News says a new study shows there’s more oil than we thought, this time under the Chukchi Sea, separating Alaska from Siberia. Indeed, Alaska’s Congressional Delegation is working hard to reverse the current drilling ban. But there’s plenty against drilling in ANWR, too. On the whole, the Achorage Daily News’ reporting appears balanced. It has run several stories in the past few months that would seem to argue against drilling.
In any event, I say no to drilling in ANWR so we get our butts in high gear of renewsable. What sayeth you?
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