Abstract
This paper explores the importance of porcupine caribou and other keystone species of Alaska's ecosystems. It revisits past oil spills and shows the negative effects oil drilling has and will have on the environment.

From the Paper
"Fish habitats are also in danger if drilling takes place in the refuge. Erosion, sedimentation, or alteration of drainage flow or wetland habitat can result from inadequate cross-drainage structures. Gravel removal from a floodplain can also affect fish by changing the patterns of flow or water quality. Water withdrawal can reduce the flow of a stream and potentially raise the temperature to dangerous levels if it becomes low enough. Causeways may inhibit the movement of fish, and change the quality or quantity of movement of sediment. Oil in water bodies will coat fish - making it impossible for them to eat, mate, or breathe - it also poisons them and makes them inedible for other predatory animals. "

Tags:biodiversity, keystone, species, Exxon-Valdez, thermokarst, porcupine, caribou

Abstract
This paper summarizes the argument against drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on the basis of damage that would be caused to the environment and the wildlife inhabiting the region. The topic is connected to the events of September 11th which nearly allowed the Republicans to push through an emergency Energy Security Bill, allowing for the extraction of oil from the ANWR.

From the Paper
"In the past 10 months many people have claimed that the world as we knew it a year ago has been profoundly and irreversibly transformed with the events of September 11th, 2001. Others have attacked these claims as being yet another example of American ethnocentrism and egocentricity: the world has not changed, the USA simply got a taste of reality. However, whether the United States was living in a sheltered state of denial in which true poverty, destruction and war never found a home on its shores, or whether the world truly has changed entirely, is a subject for a different debate and a different paper."

Tags:11th, alaska, anwr, bush, caribou, crisis, energy, environment, fuel, george, iraq, national, oil, politics, pollution, porcupine, september, herd