As one of the world’s largest consumers of oil, it only makes sense to increase our ability to produce it.
An excerpt.
Push to drill in Alaska's refuge
Opening wildlife area would cushion problems like BP cutback, backers say
By Kevin G. Hall -- McClatchy Washington BureauPublished 12:01 am PDT Monday, August 14, 2006
WASHINGTON -- Proponents of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge are seizing on the partial shutdown of oil giant BP's Alaska drilling operations to renew their push in Congress to expand petroleum exploration and production.
Domestic drilling will be on the agenda when Congress returns in September. Negotiators in the House and Senate will begin trying to narrow their differences on two bills that call for expanded drilling on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf.
Neither of these bills has provisions for drilling in the wildlife refuge, but Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Tracy, chairman of the House Resources Committee, is expected to hold hearings on the American-Made Energy Freedom Act. The bipartisan House bill proposes to open 1.5 million coastal acres of the 19 million-acre refuge to limited drilling.
The U.S. Geological Survey thinks there's a 50 percent chance that 10.3 billion barrels of oil lie below those 1.5 million acres. More than 15 billion barrels already have been pumped out of nearby Prudhoe Bay.
Opponents of opening the wildlife refuge argue against putting at risk a fragile ecosystem that's home to migratory birds, native bears and large caribou populations. They often point to the Exxon Valdez, the oil tanker that struck a reef outside Alaska's Prince William Sound in 1989.
The spill of millions of gallons of oil contaminated coastlines and killed scores of wild animals.
Proponents of opening at least part of wildife refuge argue that it offers a reliable source of oil that would help cushion shocks from accidents or political turmoil.
