Posted on 02/24/2002 11:43:51 PM PST by kattracks
Edited on 07/12/2004 3:37:34 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
The White House is redoubling its efforts to enact a national energy policy and is close to calling for an up-or-down Senate vote on drilling in Alaska, senior administration officials said.
On Thursday, President Bush will meet with union leaders who are intensely lobbying Senate Democrats to abandon their opposition to oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR).
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Coastal Plain
spring summer winter
Bush Renews Campaign For Arctic Oil [Excerpt] "We all remember the blackouts and the sky-high energy bills of recent summers," he said. "I urge Congress to protect consumers from these wild swings in energy prices for the future."
The government estimates that at least 5.7 billion barrels of oil - and possibly as many as 16 billion barrels - may be recoverable from the Arctic refuge.
Environmentalists say the refuge contains no more than 3.2 billion barrels, not enough to dramatically ease the country's reliance on imports. They assert that drilling there would endanger polar bears, musk oxen, 130 species of migrating birds and thousands of caribou. [End Excerpt]
Environmentalist don't want a strong America.
Thanks for the pics, Cincy...Most of ANWR is nothing but ice in the winter and mosquito-infested in the summer.
The pretty pictures of mountains and glaciers that appear on the nightly network news channels are deceiving.
. Sweeney described the subsistence living for the Inupiat of Kactovik in an area ''with no agriculture, no commercial fishing, no trees, and no tourism.'' But thanks to the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, they do have a stake in the oil that is pulled from the ground, a stake that over the years has provided billions of dollars in gross revenues to Inupiat people throughout Alaska.
''The only thing that brought our people out of Third World living conditions was the Prudhoe Bay development,'' she said, refering to the spread of oil development roughly 65 miles west along the arctic slope. The Prudhoe Bay fields will run out, and many Inupiat fear that the dollars that have started to modernize their communities will dry up as well. [End Excerpt]
1. Only 8% of ANWR Would Be Considered for Exploration Only the 1.5 million acre or 8% on the northern coast of ANWR is being considered for development. The remaining 17.5 million acres or 92% of ANWR will remain permanently closed to any kind of development. If oil is discovered, less than 2000 acres of the over 1.5 million acres of the Coastal Plain would be affected.2. Revenues to the State and Federal Treasury Federal revenues would be enhanced by billions of dollars from bonus bids, lease rentals, royalties and taxes. Estimates in 1995 on bonus bids alone were $2.6 billion.
3. Jobs To Be Created Between 250,000 and 735,000 jobs are estimated to be created by development of the Coastal Plain.
4. Economic Impact Between 1980 and 1994, North Slope oil field development and production activity contributed over $50 billion to the nations economy, directly impacting each state in the union.
5. America's Best Chance for a Major Discovery The Coastal Plain of ANWR is America's best possibility for the discovery of another giant "Prudhoe Bay-sized" oil and gas discovery in North America. U.S. Department of Interior estimates range from 9 to 16 billion barrels of recoverable oil.
6. North Slope Production in Decline The North Slope oil fields currently provide the U.S. with nearly 25% of it's domestic production and since 1988 this production has been on the decline. Peak production was reached in 1980 of two million barrels a day, but has been declining to a current level of 1.4 million barrels a day.
7. Imported Oil too Costly The U.S. imports over 55% of the nation's needed petroleum. These oil imports cost more than $55.1 billion a year (this figure does not include the military costs of protecting that imported supply). These figures are rising and could exceed 65% by the year 2005.
8. No Negative Impact on Animals Oil and gas development and wildlife are successfully coexisting in Alaska's arctic. For example, the Central Arctic Caribou Herd (CACH) at Prudhoe Bay has grown from 3,000 to as high as 23,400 during the last 20 years of operation. In 1995, the Central Arctic Caribou Herd size was estimated to be 18,100 animals.
9. Arctic Technology Advanced technology has greatly reduced the 'footprint" of arctic oil development. If Prudhoe Bay were built today, the footprint would be 1,526 acres, 64% smaller.
10. Alaskans Support More than 75% of Alaskans favor exploration and production in ANWR. The Inupiat Eskimos who live in and near ANWR support onshore oil development on the Coastal Plain.
In 1998 the USGS did a study that concluded that there are between 5.7 billion to 16 Billion barrels of recoverable Oil in the "1002" Area of ANWR.
An exploration rig seen damaging the tundra and disturbing the abundent wildlife on the costal plane of ANWR
Beautiful Spring day in "Americas Serengetti"
That is a LOT of oil!
and it dosent even take into consideration the nearly 200 TRILLION cubic feet of natural gas there (over 150 years supply at the current rate of use in the U.S.)
A little perspective on the size of ANWR development:
Only 2,000 acres out of 19.5 MILLION are even under consideration for drilling. And those 19.5 million acres are but a FRACTION of the total land mass of Alaska. Also, contrary to dire predictions of the devasting impact on wildlife that would occur when we ran the pipeline in Prudhoe bay, the caribou herd there have actually grown to record numbers.
For REAL information on ANWR, click here for info on ANWR and here for an excellent article by Linda Chavez about how Alaskans themselves view it.
The Heritage Foundation also has an article which simply and plainly states the case for drilling here.
Also read The National Center for Public Policy Research Press Release entitled "Bush Is Right: Opening ANWR To Oil Exploration Would Help Consumers Without Hurting Environment"
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