Alaskan Oil Drills

Words: 946
Pages: 4

Many controversies present a challenge to those who are directly and indirectly involved, however none is more pressing than the Alaskan Oil Controversy. This decades old controversy, which dates back to the 1960’s, has caused mass debates, which still extends toward modern day politics and several Congressional stalls. The debate, which argues the point of either using an Alaskan wilderness reserve for oil, or for conservation, has caused many to ask the question, “Should oil be drilled in the Arctic Refuge, and what kind of benefits and consequences will it bring?” One side of the argument states that the oil below the reserve provides a vital essence toward the American economy and position in the world, while the other side argues that …show more content…
These massive rigs drill holes into the ground, and usually fill the holes with mud or sometimes even acid. Another concerning factor to using oil is the risk of spills. History has repeated and repeated the destructive power that oil has over fragile landscapes. The past tragic failures of the oil industry, such as, the Kuwaiti Oil Fires and the spill of the Exxon Valdez has taught us to be very cautious of how we drill for oil; however, oil is still handled very poorly. A presentation, done by Missouri University of Science and Technology states that there are 6 common problems that occur within oil drills, which extend from the type of soil the rig is placed on, to the inexperience of …show more content…
The future generations needs to know what the earth had looked like so many years ago. Drilling in ANWR will destroy this magnificent landscape forever. What oil does to the world is detrimental at the very least. Alaska does not have the natural resilience that South Texas or the Middle East does; ANWR is too fragile of a landscape to risk losing forever. This, however, could possibly come without the risks that oil presents to the landscape. A report done by Arctic Power states that modern oil technology could be used with minimal damage. This could mean we could use the 8% of the refuge instead of the much larger anticipated amount. In addition, the United States Government may choose to allow drilling for oil in ANWR. This sudden change could happen due to foreign threat from our main oil suppliers. At least 14% of our oil consumption comes from tense countries. Most of the percentage consists of the increasingly hostile Persian Gulf area. It would be logical for the government to use domestic resources in an attempt to reduce the overall foreign oil consumption