The orginal intent of the artic refuge was to set aside land for the purpose of the exploration of oil. We know there is a lot there, but not exactly how much. It has been estimated to be able to supply over 1,000,000 barrels of oil daily. The size of the land needed to drill would be much less than 1 acre of land.

The pictures of the area that are shown by the media and the evironmentaists are misleading because they are NOT in the place they will be drilling. This area is very inhospitable to any life, cold barren flat area that gets very little sunlight and rarely gets above freezing for most of the year.

A plan needs to be put together that includes ALL options to be put on the table. The short term solutions would call for putting a drill bit in the ground anywhere there is oil. If we as americans value our jobs, and lifestyle it is something we have to do!

The notion that there are no places left to get oil is rediculous! The politicians along with the special interest groups have made sure by making many of these area's off limits to drilling and exploration.

The long term solution is to get the government out of the way and provide tax breaks and incentives for private companys to find other means to provide energy, from solar, wind, wave or whatever means necissary to get us off the the oil we have been binging on for he last century.

So, why is it called the Arctic Natural Wildlife Reserve? Kind of a misleading name if they originally made it to get oil.

As someone who has actually been up there. (Go google dalton highway if you want to go.), the animals do not seem to be affected in any way by the pipeline. They completely ignore it. In addition to that, as far as I can tell, the ground/permafrost near the pipeline looks the exact same as it does everywhere else.

With that said, the drilling operations leave a huge mark on the environment, and I am opposed to opening up ANWR to them.

any examples of a 1 acre oil field? somehow i doubt it.

so the purpose of the refuge was for oil exploration....except oil drilling is banned from it? your opening paragraph contradicts itself. I believe it was set aside from development to provide a natural habitat for the caribou.

As one of many species on this planet- jobs and lifestyles that destroy our home are short sighted and setting up future generations for a bleaker life. We should all strive to leave the world in better shape than previous generations.

As for ANWR, it would take years before any oil would ever make it to market, not to mention the fact the amount of oil there is by most estimates very limited- and would at best amount to a stop gap solution. The oil isnt going anywhere, the sooner we adopt greener sources of energy (wind,solar,goethermal,tidal etc) the better off we will all be.

Neil,

you confuse ANWR and NPR-A (National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska).

ANWR is a wildlife refuge, it was created to give animals shelter, not to set aside exploration of oil.

Harsh conditions are not argument either. Life exists everywhere. In sands of Sahara, on ice of Arctic.

I would have to agree with Michele Bachmann with regards to the Caribou Coffee Klatches. I have seen it on my many trips to Prudhoe Bay. The caribou come onto the gravel pads beneath the pipeline in the summertime to get away from the mosquitos (the North Slope is mostly wet in the summer) and walk along the pipeline in the winter time for warmth. This caribou population has tripled on the North Slope since oil exploration began in Prudhoe Bay.

With regard to minimal invasiveness to developing our resources within ANWR, the oil companies currently use a number of techniques to drill and access drill sites to minimize impacts to the tundra. A widely used technique is construction of ice roads in the winter time to transport equipment, rigs, and personnel to drilling sites. These ice roads then melt in the summer time returning the tundra to its original condition. Another technique is to use horizontal directional drilling which reduces the number of pads needed for a drill rig to tap a reservoir. Not only are these techniques less invasive but are also cost effective to the oil companies and are becoming the standard method of oil exploration on the North Slope.

In addition, the oil companies are highly restricted and regulated by the State of Alaska on impacting the environment on the North Slope. This includes harming any wildlife or their habitat. No guns are allowed on the North Slope (except the native population which hunts to subsist). That means there is no protection from the polar bears that often swim off the ice pack in late fall to mainland. (Yes, you can have bear spray, but that just adds flavor to their human tartar). Polar bears are known to stalk humans for prey. Also, everyone who enters the oil fields are required to have taken a class on what to do when encountering any wildlife. It is a highly controlled location.

No matter how you feel about the development of ANWR though (I am for the developmet), it will only be a stop gap measure for our energy needs in the U.S. Currently, we get more bang out of a gallon of oil than the current alternative energy sources provide. But, current cries are no longer from the "treehuggers". The market is now starting to scream for the focus to be on the development of alternative and sustainable energy sources and the oil companies have an opportuniy to become energy companies by focusing more of their effort away from fossil fuels and into increasing the efficiencies of alternative fuel technologies.

I am so hot for this broad! She's so clearly insane, just like Lohan, it makes her that much more sexy. Nutty broads just do it for me; the more clearly insane, the more I want to get up in that.

;)

Thanks John. Though I am opposed to opening the ANWR for drilling, I agree with your cool-headed and realistic assessment. Opening the ANWR would be a minor amount of oil relative to demand. I only fear that people would interpret "we will drill here" to mean "I don't need to change my habits after all." Maybe we simply differ in our estimates of the average person.
I am hopeful that the oil companies will pursue. if not lead, the way to alternative fuels and alternative energy. After oil we'll need to make our own fuels using energy from the grid. We will never entirely eliminate the need for vehicles that can refuel on the go, so I doubt all-electric vehicles will ever totally dominate market the way gas cars have.

Conservatives and environmentalists have a common enemy....OIL.

But unfortunately we have a difference of opinion on how to get ourselves off the hook.

Your reasons for getting off oil is, that we are destroying the world with greenhouse gasses. Your solution is bigger govenment, less freedom, less individualism, more restrictions imposed by government, etc. The solutions to the problem always seem to be anti-capitolist, which conservatives have a HUGE problem with.

Our reason for getting off oil is so we becom an independant country not relying on others for our existance. Our solution is market based, relying on individuals to come up with a solution being much better than the government coming up with solutions. It may take a little longer, but the transfer of these powers from the individual to the government in the name of global warming is not worth it to us.

I just want to be independant of any government intervention or minipulation in my life. Living in a home, creating my own electricity, for my home and electric car, generated by hydro, wind, solar, etc at a reasonable cost would be a realization of the dream. The power to the individual

Public transportation, government funded wind farms, wave farms, solar farms a total NIGHTMARE of over run costs, shady deals, more taxation and regulation. Power to government less freedom for the individual SCARRY!!!!!!!!!

I do not want to give up my freedoms or lifestyle to "go green" and I don't think it is necessary for anyone else to either. In the long run if we all generate our own power for ourselves we will save money, get the long arm of the government out of our lives and be an independant country again and save the planet.

The problem is that we have developed a bad habit by being dependant on other countrys for our oil. We can fix this problem by drilling for oil here, keeping the oil prices low to continue our comfortable lifestyles.

We MUST develop ways to become independant as INDIVIDUALS by creating our own power for ourselves cheaply without giving up freedom, without giving up comfort, without needing the government to do anything for us.

Unfortunately we must drill for oil anywhere it is to keep the lifestyle we have become accustomed to. If we sell the American people on the idea of saving money and becomeing FREE from government, and get our power CHEAP and actually become more INDEPENDANT we have the best chance.

Neil says:

"I just want to be independant of any government intervention or minipulation in my life. Living in a home, creating my own electricity, for my home and electric car, generated by hydro, wind, solar, etc at a reasonable cost would be a realization of the dream. The power to the individual"

Sounds great, what are the poor supposed to do instead? they can't afford their own house or condo, let alone multi $10k's for solar panels and hydro or an electric car.
Me and my wife are middle class and we can't afford any of that and we don't have any debt.

I guess the right wingers answer is if you're born poor tough luck, it's your fault for not having rich parents.

I am sorry John that you are in the postion where you cannot afford a home or a car.

I beleive that we can be the owners of our own destiny, that we as Amercians are acheivers, and when challenges arrive, which they surely will, we will learn and over come them. When you do that, you will feel joy and happiness because it was hard and you did it anyway!

I want to inspire you John to take it to the next level and just beleive that in this great country of ours that it is possible.

Unfortunately there are people in this world that proffit on your inablility to take care of yourself. They want to keep you there by giving you just enough to let you get by and to keep you thinking they can help you, when all they are doing is making you dependant on them.

They don't do it to be nice to you, they do it for the power of taking from people who acheive, taking their hard work and sweat and acheivement and giving you some of it, without you doing anything for it. Legalised stealing.

Somehow they convinced many people this is compassion, when in reality they are stealing your dreams and hopes and you are giving them that power over you.

I know deep down inside you have a dream, and I want to let you know you can have it, if you just beleive it will happen. You need to stop depending on the sweat and hard work of others to help get you by, take charge and controll of your own life and make it happen! I beleive you can, You are an AMERICAN!