Should we drill for oil in Alaskas wilderness free essay sample

The world, as we know it, is in the midst of having an oil crisis. Our nation starves and bends at the will of this dreadful calamity. Our deprivation for this atrocious corruption has led us to look for oil deposits in the Alaskan Wilderness. The US needs oil and by drilling for oil on our own land, we would help our economy, but in doing so would destroy the beauty of the wilderness and harm many others. The matter on hand is that should we drill for oil in Alaska’s wilderness? My opinion and answer to this question would simply be no. The United States of America should not drill for oil in the Alaskan wilderness. I hold strongly to this belief for I am someone who does not tempt to greed but rather, I wish to look for alternatives that would reduce oil consumption. Drilling for oil in the Alaskan wilderness would not only destroy the home of many Arctic animals, but at the same time, it will have no real effect on our economy. We will write a custom essay sample on Should we drill for oil in Alaskas wilderness? or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page According to a study by the US Energy Information Agency, the oil from the Alaskan Wilderness â€Å"would only reduce US oil imports by 4%† (Document C), which would barely put a dent in our economy. Not only that but it would only supply us for â€Å"no more than 6 months† in spite of our starvation and at the rate in which we consume oil. We hold less than 3% of all known oil reserves and â€Å"the amount from the Arctic Refuge is a drop in the bucket† (Document C). The effect is too small for the scar that would be left behind after we have drilled the land. The Alaskan Wilderness that we wish to drill belongs to the Inupiat Eskimo people. By drilling in their land, we would ruin their traditional way of life. They â€Å"rely on the land and resources of the North Slope for physical, †¦cultural, and †¦economic well-being† (Document D). The Eskimo people live on this land and although drilling may not have harmed them yet, slowly, over time, the land will degrade by pollutants and drilling. â€Å"We have watched the oil and gas development at Prudhoe Bay.. and have seen first-hand how development can co-exist with our natural resources and way of life. They will soon realize and see that drilling will ruin the resources, the land, and the beauty that their culture and tradition relies and depends so heavily upon. We should put this into careful consideration for we do not want to repeat history. The author in Document D may not be the best person to represent the Inupiat people. He is a shareholder of a corporation that would benefit financially from the drilling. This leads back to greed and so the consensus of the other Inupiat people who rely heavily on their environment may not agree. The drilling will pollute resources, scare off food sources, and ruin the environment itself. If the Inupiat people hold a strong relationship with their traditional way of life, they won’t be happy with the outcome of the drilling. We have seen this too many times in the past, where violence will concur and repeating history and mistakes is something we should take into careful consideration. Do we want to take the land away from people who have there lived for centuries and have developed their way of life based on their land? One of the last of the world’s true wilderness, the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge is â€Å"one of the largest sanctuaries for Arctic animals, (where)†¦ it is a vital birthing ground for polar bears, grizzlies, Arctic wolves, caribou, and the endangered shaggy ox† (Document E). By drilling for oil on this land, we would potentially endanger the wildlife and the environment. Pollutants such as sewage sludge and garbage would bleed into fresh water sources, intoxicating animals that drink there. The fragile tundra would turn into an industrial zone with pipes and roads that would stretch across the refuge, disturbing the wildlife. We have have to clear the environment to form roads, pipes, and oil rigs. The refuge is supposed to remain a pristine refuge for wildlife, not an industrial zone. The oil deposits are â€Å"spread across the coastal plain in more than 30 small deposits, which would require vast networks of roads and pipelines that would fragment the habitat disturbing and displacing wildlife. † (Document E) If we wish to preserve the small amount of true wilderness we have left on this world, we would not drill for oil in the Alaskan Nation Wildlife Refuge. In conclusion, I hold a firm grasp on the belief that we should not drill for oil in the Alaskan Wilderness. It would not help us economically for its effect is too small for the consequences that would follow. It could potentially anger the indigenous people of the land and ruin their traditional way of life. Not only that but it would turn the refuge into a sprawling industrial zone, disturbing, harming, and displacing the wildlife. The only way for the US to satisfy our starvation and deprivation for fuel and oil is to spend that money that we were going to use to drill on researching and developing, safer, cleaner, and better alternatives.