I love polar bears, but...

ANWR is a HUGE (19.6 million acres) part of Alaska in the Northeast corner, south of the North Pole and North of the Arctic Circle.





ANWR makes up only a small portion of Alaska, but is larger than 1o US states.





The 10-02 area, or the area that is reserved for oil drilling, is located on a coastal plain that is completely barren. Nine months out of twelve, this area is completely covered in snow and ice, and is essentially void of life. No polar bears, no moose, no caribou. For three months, this area, which is only 1.5 million acres out of the 19.6 million (8%), is in total darkness. In the summer, the area is essentially under a bog and a great deal of lakes. The area that is ALREADY approved for drilling (section 10-02 of ANILCA) is roughly the size of Delaware. However, Congress has limited further development to roughly 2000 acres. That is less than .05% of ANWR's total land.

ANWR (Coastal Plain) in summer.

ANWR (Coastal Plain) in winter.

I love animals (unless I have to take care of them), and would hate to see any of them disturbed by oil drilling. But in this case, it won't be a problem. Even the Alaskans who live there support drilling.

There is a 95% chance that a "superfield" (500 million barrels or more) would be discovered in this region, and it is the nation's best and most abundant area for onshore drilling.

Do I think this is a long term solution to America's dependency on oil? Absolutely not. I think this would be a great short-term solution while scientists work on developing cheap, readily available, and environmentally friendly energy sources. Furthermore, it would add between 250,00-735,000 jobs, which would be fantastic what with the sluggish economy, reduce our dependency on foreign oil from countries that honestly don't like us, and SIGNIFICANTLY lower oil prices, giving everyone (particularly the middle class) more disposable income to put into the economy. Previous oil development in this region has brought in at least $50 billion, having a positive impact on the economy of each state. To me, it seems so completely ridiculous to have such a dependency on foreign oil that Iran so much as gives us a dirty look, and prices jump $0.45 per gallon, when we have MASSIVE amounts of untapped oil on the coastal plain of ANWR. Right now, the US is paying $330 billion in oil imports, which is the equivalent of $37.75 per hour. And people wonder why the economy is bad.

AND...

77% OF VOTERS FAVOR DOMESTIC DRILLING. And yet the Democratic Congress is consistently blocking any effort that is made. To me, it doesn't sound like they are looking out

for their constituents' best interests. At all. And that is the job they were elected to do.

Happy Election Year.

And one final thought...

So cute!