| The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is a 1.5 million
acre national wildlife refuge in North East Alaska. Recently, the refuge
has received much publicity because millions of gallons of untapped oil could
potentially be found beneath the protected land; however, because the land
is protected, oil companies would not be able to drill in ANWR without specific
permission from congress. Environmentalists claim that opening the refuge
would cause irreparable damage to a sensitive ecosystem, while pro-drilling
advocates argue that the refuge would enable the United States to become less
dependent on foreign, specifically middle eastern, oil. Both sides argue passionately
for their cause, and oftentimes emotions and self-righteousness cloud debate.
But what is the real story? What are the hard facts about oil and drilling
in ANWR? |
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