Covering over nineteen million acres in the northeast corner of Alaska, the ANWR is the largest reserve in the National Wildlife Refuge. Because of its size, remote location, and the absence of any roads or campsites, it is also one of the wildest protected ecosystems in the

If drilling were to take place in this area, the environmental impact of the project would permanently change the ecosystem of the region, affecting species’ survival and reproduction, migration patterns, and population sizes. The threats oil drilling would pose to the Gwich’in peoples’ way of life could even be considered a violation of international human rights laws. The Gwich’in tribe has lived in this area for 20,000 years and they heavily depend on the herd of Porcupine caribou to survive. According to biologists, drilling would cause serious harm to the herd because they migrate to the plains every spring to reproduce. Drilling in the area would force the herd to relocate to another area where nutrients would not be as plentiful. As a result insects could not easily escape, and predators, such as wolves and bears, would be more of a threat to young caribou.

As a result of the high financial rewards, many Alaskan politicians are the leading supporters of drilling in the 1002 Area, despite the environmental damage that would result. The state of Alaska earns 80% of its unrestricted general revenue from oil production. Because of this revenue, Alaska has no state income tax, no sales tax, and the lowest fuel taxes in the U.S. The state also has an 18 billion dollar savings account called the Permanent Fund that provides every Alaskan citizen with a check for $1000 every September. Beyond the high revenue, development of the area would provide jobs for Alaskan citizens. Alaskan politicians have attempted to open this land to oil exploration several times in the last decade, but without success. In February of 2001, Alaskan senator Frank H. Murkowski introduced a bill that would open the 1002 Area to exploration and drilling. On March 19th of this year, the issue was brought to the Senate as a part of Bush’s energy program. Even though the Senate is dominated by Republicans in support of domestic oil drilling, the proposal was rejected in a 52-48 vote. The vote was close though, because the proposal was included in a budget proposal along with proposed tax cuts. The area is saved for now but politicians will most likely

Some topics in this essay:
North America, Middle East, Bush Administration, Bush Administration’s, Conservation Act, Senate Bush’s, United Sates’, Joseph Lieberman, Park System, Information Administration, middle east, oil exploration, foreign oil, dependency foreign oil, oil drilling, drilling alaska, dependency foreign, domestic oil, herd porcupine caribou, coastal plains, herd porcupine, issues middle east, drilling anwr, current situation middle, national wildlife refuge,