Drilling in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Paper Summary:

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is the most promising onshore area for oil exploration and one of the wildest areas remaining in the United States. Therefore, the conflict between the need to develop energy resources and the desire to preserve wild areas has led to the prolonged debate over the merits of programs to lease the region for oil exploration and development. According to the paper, drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would cause environmental costs that include some elements that are essentially certain, as well as elements that are uncertain, such as the unpredictable effects on the number and health of certain important species. The paper concludes that development is environmentally damaging no matter the cautions, because it alters the wild state of the region forever.

From the Paper:

"When Alaska entered the Union in 1958, Congress transferred an exceptionally large amount of land to the new state, and at the same time, the Department of the Interior used its authority to administratively reserve land for federal use, resulting to decades of controversy and disputes (Grover). Since 1957, the United States Department of the Interior has exercised primary administrative authority over most of the land comprising modern-day ANWR Grover). This fact has meant that a great deal to people who care about the Refuge (Grover). Federal management has produced a land that is valued as much for its unique wilderness character as it is prized for its suspected mineral wealth, and in particular, it has precluded significant petroleum exploration and development of the Refuge (Grover)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Alaska. Retrieved December 09 2005 from: http://arctic.fws.gov/issues1.htm#section4
• Fact Sheet: Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and Oil Drilling. Environmental Defense. Retrieved December 09 2005 from: http://www.environmentaldefense.org/documents/1533_ANWRenergyFactSheet.htm
• Grover, Todd. "Arctic equity? The Supreme Court's resolution of United States v. Alaska." Environmental Law. December 22 1998. Retrieved December 09 2005 from HighBeam Research Library Web site.
• Kaiser, Jocelyn. "Conservation Science: Caribou Study Fuels Debate on Drilling in Arctic Refuge." Science. April 19 2002. Retrieved December 09 2005 from HighBeam Research Library Web site.
• Markey, Ed. "To drill or not to drill." Business Perspectives. March 22 2005. Retrieved December 09 2005 from HighBeam Research Library Web site.

More papers on Drilling in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge:

• Argumentative Essay # 117315 : "Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)"
• Argumentative Essay # 62323 : "Drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge"
• Essay # 38845 : "Arctic National Wildlife Refuge"

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