Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
lowing are two examples that U.S. citizens have the opportunity to become geographically involved
in.
ANWR
Some 19 million barrels of petroleum are consumed in the United States each and every day, and
more than half of them are imported. That kind of consumption scenario — particularly the reliance
on foreign sources of oil — makes a strong argument for tapping domestic oil reserves to the fullest.
But what if an area of proven potential coincides with a pristine wildlife reserve? Americans love
theirpetroleum,buttheyalsochampionwildlifeandwilderness.Canwehaveitbothways?Isdrilling
compatible with wildlife? Should it be prohibited in certain areas? Or should our need for oil dictate
that we go ahead and drill wherever we can as long as we make an honest effort to protect the envir-
onment as best we can?
These questions are at the center of the debate concerning the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
(ANWR), a South Carolina-sized area in Alaska's extreme northeast corner (Figure 18-7). The same
Congressional Act that created the Refuge's present boundary also designated 1.5 million acres of
it along the coastal plain as a potential future site for oil exploration. That area is now estimated to
contain anywhere between 4 and 16 billion barrels of oil (depending on whose data you consult), al-
though the amount that can be profitably recovered is probably no more than 6 billion barrels. That
figure turns out to be less than a year's worth of annual U.S. petroleum consumption.
The zone with the greatest oil-producing potential lies within the principal calving area of the por-
cupine caribou, whose annual migration brings a herd of some 130,000 members to the coastal plain
each summer. Numerous other species frequent the area for all or part of the year — after all, it is
a National Wildlife Refuge. Debate rages concerning the effects of drilling (together with attendant
construction and road building) on wildlife and whether or not the productive lifetime of the oil re-
serve (perhaps 40 years) is worth the risk. Ultimately, your elected representatives will make the de-
cision.
