Drilling for Oil in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge

The United States should not drill for oil in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge because it would harm the environment, disrupt the animals, and destroy plants. The United States Congress created the Artic National Wildlife Refuge in 1980 (To drill or not to drill?: 6). The Artic National Wildlife Refuge is also known as ANWR (To drill or not to drill?: 6). The Artic National Wildlife Refuge is 19.6 million acres of wilderness (Scalzo, Jim Lo.: 37). Of the 19.6 million acres in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge 17.5 million acres are permanently closed to development. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is often called the "American Serengeti" (Defenders of Wildlife). The Artic National Wildlife Refuge lies in the northeast corner of Alaska (Predger, David). The entire refuge lies north of the Arctic Circle and 1,300 miles south of the North Pole (Predger, David). The Artic National Wildlife Refuge is the size of South Carolina (Predger, David). If ANWR was a state it would be bigger than ten other states (Predger, David). If the United States did drill for oil in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge there is an estimated 10.4 billion barrels on the North Slope (One state's free lunch: 28-32). The North Slope covers 89,000 square miles (Experts say Alaska Oil Drilling Hurts Wildlife: 43). The North Slope extends from the top of the Brooks Range to the Artic coast (Experts say Alaska Oil Drilling Hurts Wildlife: 43). The United States Congress wants to drill for oil and natural gas in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge (Battles loom in

Congress Over ANWR.: 2) The United States Congress is split in half, give or take, on whether to drill for oil in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge or not to drill (Schneiderman, Emma: 4). Approximately 1.5 million barrels of oil a day are being produced from the fields that are already tapped (Predger, David).

Another reason why the United States should not drill in the Artic National Wildlife Reserve is because it would harm the animals living in the reserve. Another indirect effect of oil drilling in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge is global warming would increase (One state's free lunch: 28- 32). The Porcupine River herd of 129,000 caribou gathers annually on the Coastal Plain to bear and nurse their young. Polar bears rely on the Coastal Plain of the Refuge as their most important on-land denning habitat on American soil. There are many types of wildlife in the refuge. These animals include caribou, polar bears, musk oxen, millions of birds, wolves, foxes, black bears, grizzly bears, and several species of whales (One state's free lunch: 28-32). Musk oxen, grizzly bears, wolves, wolverines, foxes, golden eagles, and snowy owls gather here to hunt and den. In the fall, the Coastal Plain of the refuge supports up to 300,000 snow geese which detour to feed from their nesting grounds in Canada. Millions of other birds use the Arctic Refuge to nest and as a critical staging area before journeying through every state. Wolves, foxes, and musk oxen raise their young there (To drill or not to drill?: 6). Golden eagles and snowy owls nest there (To drill or not to drill?: 6). Enormous herds of caribou and moose roam there (To drill or not to drill?: 6). The vast artic plain is home to grizzly bears, polar bears, and black bears (To drill or not to drill?:

6). Oil development has already affected caribou herd geographical distribution and reproductive success (Experts say Alaska Oil Drilling Hurts Wildlife:

43). The increased human presence has attracted scavenging animals and birds that also prey on nestlings, eggs and bird species (Experts say Alaska Oil Drilling Hurts Wildlife: 43). Bowhead whales have changed their fall migration pattern to avoid the noise of seismic exploration activities (Experts say Alaska Oil Drilling Hurts Wildlife: 43). Scientists use seismic waves to determine if there is oil under a certain place of land. If the United States was to drill in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge they would have to make pipelines and oil-drilling platforms to get the oil out and to pump it to where it needs to go. Pipelines and oil-drilling platforms will harm caribou, polar bears, and millions of migrating birds (Come on in.: 38). Whenever some country drills for oil it is more likely than not for that country to have an oil spill. Oil spills are deadly to animals, hard to clean up, and it takes the land thousands of years to recover. The United States has already had one major oil spill off the coast of Alaska in Prince William Sound. If another large oil spill occurred on the water it would have a substantial effect on whales and other marine wildlife (Experts say Alaska Oil Drilling Hurts Wildlife: 43). There are over 130 bird species that find breeding, nesting, or resting places on the coastal plain (Defenders of Wildlife).

All of the oil will be pumped down