Oil On Ice - Arctic Wildlife Refuge Documentary
by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 05.29.06
We've just watched Oil On Ice, an excellent documentary about the Arctic Wildlife Refuge (a topic we've covered in the past), why it's important to protect it and why it doesn't make much sense to go drill for oil there. The film covers 4 main issues: Communities that live in the area, the wild lands of the Refuge, the wildlife (and what a wildlife!) and energy. We quite enjoyed the discussions about solutions and the explanations about how some common sense investments in current technologies could improve our energy efficiency significantly (after all, it's easier to use less energy than to find new one) and save a lot more oil than could ever come out of Alaska. It also shows some of the effects of global warming on the arctic ("global weirding", as Lovins call it) and debunks some claims by Exxon about the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The DVD features bonus interviews with Carl Pope of the Sierra Club and Amory Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute. Check it out ::Oil On Ice Update: You can watch a 4-minute short film based on Oil on Ice.
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I'm from the state of PA. Both members of the Senate have voted to pass Arctic drilling. It'd be a good idea if you check whether your state has ratified drilling and then write a letter and send a DVD to them. That's what I'll be doing.
There are only four plausible reasons for politicians to vote now for ANWR drilling. One is to look like they're doing something about high gasoline prices just before a contentious election. This notion is easily debunked, as it will take several years before holes are even in the ground, etc. Number two reason is that Alaska gets almost all of it's revenue to run government services from oil levies. This results in a vote "horse trading" that makes no sense to those of us outside Congressional deliberations. Number thtree reason is to tip a sacred cow of environmentalists. The third reason may be a bit surprising. The Alaska pipeline will need more oil input to function properly in coming winters, as the Prudhoe fields are becoming depleted faster than was anticipated. The pipeline will be at increased risk of freezing up unless future input volumes at the pipe-head are kept above a minimum. Its not a conspiracy theory, just common sense that ANWR is envisioned as the solution to that problem; and it only underscores the precariousness of relying on oil as our sole transportation fuel. Were this to become a high profile pubic issue, it would symbolize that it is not possible to "drill our way out" of Peak Oil problems. Perhaps our Represenatives and Senators are aware of this?