Authors Note: The US has a shortage of oil, but I don't think digging in a sanctuary is the answer. I had a hard time writing this because I didn't relate to it very much.
Gulf oil spill, Ixtoc 1 oil spill, and Kolva River oil spill are some of the largest oil spills in the world; all of them averaging around 150 million gallons of oil dumping in to each body of water. Most oil spills were cause by a pipeline blowout or a poorly maintained pipeline. The littlest thing can cause a disaster in the oil industry, so why risk it? That’s the question I ask when the government says they want to dig for oil in Alaska's Wildlife preserve. Digging for oil in Alaska would be a horrible idea and should not even be considered.
A study by the US Energy Information Agency shows it would only reduce US oil imports 4%, having no real effect on prices or supply. Also, according to the Arctic Wildlife Organization at the current consumption rates of the USA the oil supply at the ANWR would only last us up to six months. So is it really worth going through all that work of importing machinery and running a risk of an oil leak? We would just go back to the same situation we are now within half a year. Sure, it may create jobs for people, but in the end the government would have more paychecks to pay for. In addition, once we are finished digging for oil the people who got those jobs would once again be unemployed.
There wouldn't only just be any impact for the economy; we also would be ruining an animal habitat. To import the machinery in to the forest trees would need to be cut down and once they are in the woods they would crush anything in their way; making massive destruction. This would be an immense production that would cause animals to leave their natural habitat. For example caribou move north toward the ANWR seasonally, and drilling carries the risk of diverting and potentially reducing the herd. Sources have also revealed that other key species live on Alaska’s shoreline and could be threatened.
People aren't thinking of the animals in the Wildlife reserve. The majority are thinking that their gas prices will go down and then they will have money in their pocket. Although they don't know that they will be ruining a sanctuary that the US might desperately need later or that they are ruining animals’ habitats for their extra money. Also they probably don't know that they will only get these low gas prices for six months until it all goes back to normal.
