Drilling; it’s an issue we think about all the time. Covers of magazines fascinate us with National stories of “GULF OIL SPILL.” We’re reminded every time at the pump that we’re struggling with oil prices. Problems date back to 1989 when Exxon© had a huge oil spill transporting oil back from a foreign country. Drilling from foreign countries is often a dangerous task, and many times we don’t get any profit from bringing oil over. If we were to drill in Alaska, we could remove risk factors of having as major oil spills, and have a bigger chance of gaining some money. Even though there are many outcome possibilities, I think that drilling in Alaska is a risk we should take.
According to a chart on the DBQ document, in 2025 we are projected to consume 20 million more barrels of oil than what we supply from our own country per day. That’s not just the cost of the barrels we need to make up for, it’s the shipping, the traveling, and the oil. With the US being in debt by over 10 trillion dollars, that’s not money we can spare to spend. In Document C, we read that “It (referring to money gained from the possible drilling in Alaska) is estimated that the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge contains no more than a six month supply of oil at our current consumption rates.” Some might read this and think that it’s not worth while to drill for a possible six month supply, but I say, why not try? Six months is just an estimation, and there could possibly be way more than that in Alaska. And if there’s not, we still got six months out of oil consumption in Alaska. We get six months where we won’t have to pay for the oil from a foreign country; we get six months of a little brake from the pressures of oil.
Not only would the oil in Alaska help with money issues, it would also help use the land to its fullest potential. As of 2010, America uses 22% of all the oil in the world. Out of 25 million barrels used per day, the United States only supplies 10 million of those, only to the states. If we have another possibility to use domestic oil, why would we turn that down? The ANWR is the reason stopping us. They say that it would be a waste of time, energy, money, and it would hurt the environment. Yes, there is wildlife on the ground that is planned to drill on. Yes, there are dangers of disrupting the natural habitat. Yes, there is something we can about it. We could set up reserves away from the drilling site to keep all of the wildlife. They wouldn’t be moved far, just to a safe place. The animals would adapt and the drilling would be part of a normal day in Alaska.
Drilling in Alaska wouldn’t only be a positive thing in the aspects of economic issues and environmental arguments, but it wouldn’t hurt our social arguments either. So many people are worried about drilling because they think that it will hurt or affect the ones that live there. As we read in Documents E and D, the Inupiat people believe that drilling in Alaska might not be such a bad thing. We read that they think that, even though they are native to the land, other people should get the use out of it -- which they already do. As for the people that live in Alaska and are against drilling; I feel that they should think about how they will be ultimately helping themselves, because their oil prices will go down, too. There isn’t that many people in Alaska, so not too many people would be affected. Overall, I think that the people of Alaska should be a little more courageous and let them drill in their home land.
The drilling crisis is a big one, and if we don’t do something about it, the whole US could be affected. If the government were to let us drill in Alaska, many – if not all – problems could be fixed. With our prices so high and being in debt by a lot, we could find one of our solutions to the biggest problem we have faced for many years. Drilling in Alaska might have some problems but in the end of the day, we would benefit from the oil we get in Alaska.
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