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Don't be fooled by the name, ANWR is 19,000,000 acres of frozen-over dirt, not a luxurious wilderness. Nobody lives there, nor would anyone want to. Even the Russians didn't care too much for it, apparently, so they kept Siberia and sold Alaska to the United States in 1867.* Underneath ANWR is a huge deposit of oil, and it would make much more sense to drill for oil there than to buy oil from OPEC. Biden administration will limit drilling in Arctic refuge as it secures president's legacy. Hours after former President Donald Trump was declared the winner of the 2024 election, the Biden administration moved Wednesday to limit oil drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Oil drilling had been banned for decades in the Arctic refuge — a pristine natural region in northeast Alaska home to a wide range of threatened species. But a law passed during the first Trump administration required the federal government to hold two lease sales there for fossil fuel drilling. The first was in 2021 and was ultimately suspended and canceled by the Interior Department because of the lack of interest from the oil industry. The Editor says... Biden administration restricts oil and gas leasing in 13 million acres of Alaska's petroleum reserve. The Biden administration said Friday it will restrict new oil and gas leasing on 13 million acres (5.3 million hectares) of a federal petroleum reserve in Alaska to help protect wildlife such as caribou and polar bears as the Arctic continues to warm. The decision — part of a yearslong fight over whether and how to develop the vast oil resources in the state — finalizes protections first proposed last year as the Democratic administration prepared to approve the contentious Willow oil project. The approval of Willow drew fury from environmentalists, who said the large oil project violated President Joe Biden's pledge to combat climate change. Friday's decision also completes an earlier plan that called for closing nearly half the reserve to oil and gas leasing. Biden Administration Announces Anti-Oil Restrictions on 13 Million Acres of Alaskan Petroleum Land. The Biden administration has announced restrictions on oil and gas leasing on more than 13 million acres of an Alaskan petroleum reserve to conserve land valuable to the "Alaska Native people" and "important fish and wildlife," as Republican lawmakers protest the "illegal" move. The U.S. Department of the Interior, led by Biden appointee Secretary Deb Haaland, celebrated the restrictions on Friday, saying, "These steps follow President Biden's actions to protect millions of acres of lands and waters in the Arctic." Alaskans Challenge Biden Administration's Cancellations of ANWR Leases. In August of 2023, U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason issued a ruling suspending leases in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) Coastal Plain 1002 Area. Now a group of Alaskan organizations, including the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) and several other groups such as the North Slope Borough and the Kaktovik lnupiat Corporation, are appealing that decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. [...] When it comes to government overreach in the energy sector, it's hard to overstate how much damage the Biden administration is doing. Not only have they locked down half of the National Petroleum Reserve, but the rise in fuel prices resulting (inevitably) from their actions hit them where it hurts, in the polls, and so instead of re-thinking domestic energy policies, they drained the Strategic Petroleum Reserve[,] and are now toying with the idea of tapping the dregs. Biden Admin Locking Down Half of Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve From Energy Development. Just when you thought they couldn't do anything more to make sure energy costs keep rising, we learn now that the Biden administration's Bureau of Land Management plans to lock down half — half of Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve. [...] This move by the Biden administration will have a chilling effect on oil companies' plans for investment in the North Slope, where they are a major source of jobs in that remote region. [...] Oil and gas exploration projects take years, sometimes decades, to explore and develop before extraction can begin, and Alaska's North Slope presents conditions that make this even more difficult. Closing half of an area originally set aside for such development doesn't make any sense; even if a future administration opens the Reserve back up for exploration, the oil companies may well be hesitant; all it would take is another liberal Democrat President and the Reserve is closed again. Understandably, petroleum companies would be hesitant to start exploration under these conditions. Biden Administration Imposes Further Limits on Arctic Drilling. The pain at the gas pump shows no signs of abating, and the Biden administration seems to want to make it worse. The White House announced on Monday that it's reverting back to the Obama administration's policy of opening only 52% of Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve for oil and gas leases. Under the Trump administration, 82% of the land was open for drilling. The National Petroleum Reserve is an area of about 23 million acres in Alaska, which the Harding administration set aside in 1923 as an oil reserve for the U.S. Navy. It's now under the control of the Bureau of Land Management, which monitors the oil and gas leases for sale on the land. For The Sake Of National Security, We Must Reopen The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, between 4 to 12 billion barrels of oil are buried under the northern tundra of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) waiting to be tapped 60 miles from critical infrastructure already in place for mass production at Prudhoe Bay. "The theory at ANWR is that these reservoirs are massive and that type of formation is something that is rare in on-shore operations," said President Donald Trump's former Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, who oversaw the first lease sales within the 1002 area opened for drilling by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Industry innovation since the Geological Survey's 1998 analysis has likely enhanced the amount that can be recovered, extending the estimate from more than 20 years ago. AK Corporation Must Pay Feds Over $3.6M in ANWR Leasing Fees For '22, As Biden Continues to Block Oil Exploration. An Alaska state-owned corporation will have to pay the federal government approximately $3.66 million in order to keep oil and gas leases current in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve. The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority sued President Joe Biden and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland earlier this month in federal court over the administration's decision last summer to suspend oil exploration in ANWR's Area 1002. Haaland issued an order halting all oil exploration activities in June, citing "alleged legal deficiencies" and an "insufficient analysis" of the environmental impact. Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy Wants A State Coalition To Combat Federal Overreach. Will It Work? Alaska Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy needs allies. Within 10 months, D.C. Democrats have obstructed logging activity in the Alaska's southeast Tongasss National Forest, stalled progress on a life-saving road for remote residents to reach an all-weather airport in Cold Bay, cancelled oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), and suspended new drilling activity in a state home to 60 percent of federal land. "The phone line's untouched," Dunleavy told The Federalist of President Joe Biden's outreach 10 months into an administration obstructing nearly every major development project sought in the nation's largest landmass. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, who has been implementing Biden's far-left agenda, has also remained mute. "They view Alaska as their own national park to save for mankind," Dunleavy said in an interview Thursday, frustrated at the relentless intervention of beltway bureaucrats impeding any opportunity for development. Passage of the Democrats' latest colossal reconciliation bill would make reinstated protections for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) permanent. Biden Admin Suspends Oil and Gas Leases in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Biden administration suspended oil and gas drilling leases in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on June 1, ahead of the outcome of an environmental impact review, reversing a policy that former President Donald Trump had initiated shortly before leaving office. President Joe Biden, on his first day in office in January, placed a temporary ban on the wildlife refuge's new leases. But on June 1, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland issued a memo saying that activities in the region must halt pending an analysis. "This order is effective immediately and will remain in effect until it is amended, superseded, or revoked, whichever occurs first," Haaland's memo reads. According to the memo, the Interior Department carried out a review that "identified multiple legal deficiencies in the underlying record supporting the leases," which Haaland said was the previous administration's "insufficient analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act ... including failure to adequately analyze a reasonable range of alternatives in the environmental impact statement." Biden Administration to Suspend Oil Leases in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Report. The Interior Department is expected to cancel several oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on Tuesday [6/1/2021], according to a new report. The Biden administration aims to unwind nearly a dozen leases in Alaska that has been the subject of an intense battle between Republicans and Democrats for four decades, according to the Washington Post. Biden suspends oil leases in Alaska's Arctic refuge. The Biden administration on Tuesday [6/1/2021] suspended oil and gas leases in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, reversing a drilling program approved by the Trump administration and reviving a political fight over a remote region that is home to polar bears and other wildlife — and a rich reserve of oil. The order by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland follows a temporary moratorium on oil and gas lease activities imposed by President Joe Biden on his first day in office. Biden's Jan. 20 executive order suggested a new environmental review was needed to address possible legal flaws in a drilling program approved by the Trump administration under a 2017 law enacted by Congress. Energy independence boosted as ANWR cleared for clean, safe drilling. After 40 years of fierce debate over oil and gas development in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), the Trump administration Aug. 17 cleared the way for the sale of drilling leases in the refuge — perhaps by as early as December of this year. Hailed by Alaska's governor and congressional delegation (all Republicans), and condemned by environmentalists, the move underscores the White House's commitment to to American global energy dominance. CFACT Collegians were outspoken supporters of putting the area's abundant energy resources to good use while safeguarding ANWR's environment. The two goals are by no means incompatible. Trump Administration Opens ANWR for Oil, Gas Leasing; Green Groups to Challenge. Energy Secretary David Bernhardt signed a Record of Decision on Monday [8/17/2020] to open a tiny part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to leasing. Auctions could take place before the end of the year, said Bernhardt, adding, "Congress directed us to hold lease sales in the ANWR Coastal Plain, and we have taken a significant step in meeting our obligations by determining where and under what conditions the oil and gas development program will occur." Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy was pleased: "Today's announcement marks a milestone in Alaska's 40-year journey to responsibly develop our state and our nation's new energy frontier." Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski called it "a capstone moment in our decades-long push to allow for the responsible development of a small part of Alaska's 1002 area." Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan said, "Today, we are one step closer to securing a bright future for these Alaskans and their families." That "1002 Area" is indeed tiny: Just 2,000 acres would be developed out of the more than 19-million-acre ANWR on the North Slope of Alaska. Development of that area was approved as part of the Trump administration's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. It could eventually provide as much as 10 billion barrels of crude oil. The Editor says... If your banker is an environmental fruitcake, you should shop around for another bank. America's next oil bonanza. When Alaska was granted statehood in 1959, it was given the right to select 103 million acres of the federal land in Alaska, 28% of the total. Its first choice was ANWR, on the north slope of the Brooks Range. [...] But ANWR was off limits. The Department of Defense wanted it for radar stations to detect incoming Soviet aircraft. It became part of the North American Air Defense Command, later known as NORAD. So we had to settle for Prudhoe Bay, just to the west of ANWR. It all worked out pretty well for Alaskans. Our fourth governor, Jay Hammond, managed to channel 25% of Prudhoe's wealth into the Alaska Permanent Fund. It's now worth $66 billion, and this year, it will give $1,600 dividends to every man, woman, and child in the state. It will also transfer $2.7 billion to the state government, which covers half the operating budget. How big would the Permanent Fund be if we were able to get ANWR instead of Prudhoe Bay? We're about to find out. Trump administration set to sell leases this year for drilling in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Trump administration took a final step Thursday toward selling leases for companies to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, releasing a finding that energy development would have minimal environmental impact. The Interior Department hopes to conduct a lease sale by the end of the year, after releasing an environmental impact statement assessing the risks of drilling in a 1.5 million-acre section of the refuge, known as the "1002 area," where billions of barrels of oil are believed to lie beneath the coastal plain. Alaska's ANWR opening. There are at least five and as many as sixteen billion barrels of oil in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Thanks to 2017's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, much of that oil has been unlocked and is about to do some serious good. Put that together with the hydraulic fracturing revolution, and the dream of an energy-independent America is finally within our grasp. That's good news for America and for the environment, but the big Green Left is having a conniption. Trump takes first step in aggressive effort to drill for oil in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Trump administration has taken the first step towards an aggressive effort to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge — one of the country's most pristine and environmentally sensitive areas. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), a division of the Department of Interior, issued a notice of intent to begin an environmental impact analysis of how oil exploration and the heavy infrastructure required to support it would alter a landscape where plants and animals thrive. The BLM said an official notice of the analysis, known as scoping, will be published in the Federal Register on Friday [4/20/2018], kicking off a 60-day comment period set to end in mid-June. Tax bill opens Alaska to oil production worth billions of dollars, strengthening America. An important provision of the tax cut legislation passed by Congress this week allows the American people to finally benefit from abundant petroleum resources that experts predict will be found in a very small area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) on Alaska's northern coast. The legislation directs the Interior Department to hold at least two lease sales over the next 10 years, for a maximum of 2,000 acres opened to drilling. Analysts say the sales could fetch as much as $2.2 billion. ANWR is enormous — 19 million acres, about the size of South Carolina. The 2,000 acres along the coastal plain that would actually be disturbed by drilling, roads and other development work account for about one-hundredth of 1 percent of the vast area. Trump's Energy Success. With the passage of a provision in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act allowing oil exploration in ANWR, the president has another success. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge contains vast reserves of recoverable oil currently estimated at 10.4 billion barrels. Development has been blocked by misguided and ill informed opposition from environmental groups. Now, with great care for the environment, oil companies will have the opportunity to produce vast amounts of energy while drilling only 3% of ANWR. According to a report from the House Committee on Natural Resources, "total governmental revenue" from ANWR drilling will run $440 billion. ANWR alone will create between 55,000 and 130,000 new high paying jobs. It is not just ANWR. By removing unnecessary restrictions on fracking and by opening other federal lands to drilling, President Trump is promoting energy independence rather than standing in its way. He has opened federal lands for drilling, including land in two national monuments in southern Utah. Vast federal lands in the Western U.S. offer other opportunities. Tax bill opens Alaska to oil production worth billions of dollars, strengthening America. An important provision of the tax cut legislation passed by Congress this week allows the American people to finally benefit from abundant petroleum resources that experts predict will be found in a very small area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) on Alaska's northern coast. The legislation directs the Interior Department to hold at least two lease sales over the next 10 years, for a maximum of 2,000 acres opened to drilling. Analysts say the sales could fetch as much as $2.2 billion. ANWR is enormous — 19 million acres, about the size of South Carolina. The 2,000 acres along the coastal plain that would actually be disturbed by drilling, roads and other development work account for about one-hundredth of 1 percent of the vast area. Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Drilling: Trump Parks His Tanks on Sierra Club's Lawn. There was a lot of good news in President Donald Trump's new National Security Strategy (NSS) — the document which finally told the truth about climate change: that green activists pose a bigger threat to U.S. security than anything the climate can manage. But nothing in the NSS is likely to provoke quite so much fury among environmentalists as one of the clauses buried among another of the Trump administration's recent reform measures: the bit in the tax-reform package which permits part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to be opened to oil exploration. Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) has long been a Sacred Polar Bear for environmental campaigners. It's their line in the snow: the ne plus ultra of pristine wilderness, majesty, and loveliness to be preserved at whatever cost. Democrats have been fighting to prevent it being developed for oil since the 1970s. Oil drilling in ANWR moves ahead as part of Senate tax bill. Republicans took a major step forward early Saturday in their decades-long fight to open a piece of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. Included as part of the sweeping tax reform bill passed by the Senate in a 51-to-49 vote is a highly controversial provision to allow energy exploration in a 1.5 million-acre swath of ANWR known as the "1002 area," which lies along the coast. In total, ANWR spans more than 19 million acres. The drilling provision was seen as key to getting Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Alaska Republican, on board with the tax bill. The Editor says... No Arctic Drilling Since Oil Prices are Low, Argue Dem Senators. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said it is "no surprise" that Republicans are trying to permit oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, calling the President Trump's cabinet "the Big Oil all-star team." Markey led an effort to oppose any attempts to allow oil drilling in the as part of the fiscal year 2018 federal budget. The Senate passed a budget on Thursday [10/19/2017] that could pave the way for drilling in the refuge since it requests that the Energy and Natural Resources Committee craft a bill intended to raise $1 billion in revenue over the next decade from oil drilling. Trump prepares Arctic for drill, baby, drill. President Trump is reviving efforts to drill for oil in the Arctic Circle — efforts Democrats have thwarted for 19.6 million acres. His administration is drafting changes to regulations to allow oil drilling in about 2,000 of the 19.6 million acres of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Trump administration works toward renewed drilling in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Trump administration is quietly moving to allow energy exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for the first time in more than 30 years, according to documents obtained by the Washington Post, with a draft rule that would lay the groundwork for drilling. Congress has the sole authority to determine whether oil and gas drilling can take place within the iconic refuge's 19.6 million acres. But seismic studies represent a necessary first step, and Interior Department officials are modifying a 1980s regulation to permit this initial activity. Obama to Put Alaska's Wildlife Refuge Off Limits to Drilling. On Sunday [1/25/2015] the White House released a 58-second-long YouTube video of President Obama announcing that his Interior Department was about to present a "comprehensive plan" to "make sure that this amazing wonder [the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge — ANWR] is preserved for future generations." That designation concerns the 1.5-million acre coastal plain of the ANWR, precisely the area that has been the focus of controversy since the late 1970s. It is said to have more than 10 billion barrels of recoverable oil beneath its surface, and has served as a political football between the oil industry and environmentalists ever since. Drill, with care, in ANWR and everywhere. President Obama has managed to anger almost everyone with his plans to let oil companies drill in some federal areas while closing off others. Alaskans are furious that he wants to fence off a potentially oil-rich wildlife refuge and shut down some risky areas off the state's northern coast. Environmentalists generally oppose all of Obama's plans to allow drilling, especially in Arctic waters and off the Atlantic Coast. Every decision to drill is a trade-off between environmental risk and essential energy supplies. But the bottom line is, the nation needs the oil. Adventures in Obama's Imaginary World. It is tempting to get distracted by the cartoonishly biased framing of [a recent] Washington Post story on the Obama administration's new executive action on environmental regulation in Alaska. But that media bias is only one of three important takeaways in the story — and in fact is the least important of the three. Obama Films Anti-Oil Drilling Video — From a Jet. On Sunday, President Barack Obama released an anti-oil drilling environmental video shot aboard Air Force One — an aircraft that has a 53,611 gallon fuel capacity. [...] On Saturday, Obama flew Air Force One over 8,000+ miles to India to discuss global warming and other issues. Obama closes off much of Alaska refuge to drilling. President Obama has proposed setting aside more than 12 million acres of the Alaska coast as wilderness in a move that will pit him against Republicans from the state. Obama's plans to impose strict federal protections over an expanded portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would keep Alaskans from accessing the wealth of petroleum reserves that lay below the "fragile" habitat there. Obama seeks to put Alaska refuge off limits to drilling. President Obama plans to ask Congress to designate more than 12 million acres of Alaska's wildlife refuge as a protected wilderness area, seeking to block oil and gas production. Alaska's Republican lawmakers immediately criticized the plan, saying it would damage their state's economy. In a video released by the White House on Sunday, Obama said he wants to "make sure that this amazing wonder is preserved for future generations." The Editor says... Adams 2016. I once heard a politician say it would do no good to drill in ANWR because we could not start drawing oil for a decade. But that was over a decade ago. So I'm moving forward. Some say we can only rely on ANWR for a few decades worth of oil. Nonsense! Plus, they fail to realize that if we continue to rely on the Middle East for oil there will be no United States left in a few decades. Obama's Great Alaska Shutout. President Obama is campaigning as a champion of the oil and gas boom he's had nothing to do with, and even as his regulators try to stifle it. The latest example is the Interior Department's little-noticed August decision to close off from drilling nearly half of the 23.5 million acre National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. The area is called the National Petroleum Reserve because in 1976 Congress designated it as a strategic oil and natural gas stockpile to meet the "energy needs of the nation." Alaska favors exploration in nearly the entire reserve.ANWR: It's Been '10 Years,' We Could Have Been Reaping Rewards Now. Ten years ago this month the Democrats defeated the bill that would have allowed us to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Preserve (ANWR). So it's happy anniversary to the loss of our energy independence once again. Can the President Lower Gas Prices? President Obama has claimed that there is no "silver bullet" to reduce gasoline prices. I beg to differ. [...] There would be an immediate and dramatic reduction in the worldwide price of oil if President Obama opened up for serious drilling the American territories both offshore and onshore, as well as the Alaskan National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR) and everywhere else where we might conceivably find oil. Within 24 hours after such an announcement, the price of crude would start to drop as current oil-producing countries tried to pre-empt any new activity by making it less attractive financially. Sadly, we seem to have a president who is so ideologically driven that he abhors even the thought of providing usable economical energy for the people who elected him, even if it will come online only long after he has left the presidency. Senate rejects drilling for oil in Arctic refuge. The U.S. Senate on Tuesday [3/13/2012] resoundingly rejected a sweeping measure to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other protected areas to drilling as well as approve construction of the Keystone pipeline project. The vote was the first time in four years the Senate has voted on a measure including ANWR drilling, and it failed miserably. Top 10 Obama energy blunders. It is not only the deep-water drilling pull-back that is wrongheaded. The President also refuses to consider drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge or along most of America's coastline. And he is not aggressively pushing for shale oil extraction or natural gas drilling on federal lands. There is an abundance of energy in this country if only the President would seek to develop it. What's the Hold-Up on Alaskan Oil? My state's ANWR region could produce one million barrels of oil per day if only Washington let us. ANWR — Is President Obama Serious About Domestic Oil Production? President Obama admitted in the State of the Union that energy production creates jobs, so why isn't he opening up new areas like the North Slope of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) for oil and gas production? As we have noted numerous times, the federal government leases a mere 3 percent of federal lands for energy production. The United States is already the world's third largest oil producer, but we could produce a lot more oil if the federal government would let the American people explore for oil on more federal lands. [Italics in original.] Obama's War on U.S. Energy. The Obama administration delayed the proposed Canadian Keystone XL pipeline that would provide more oil for America's needs. It imposed an illegal moratorium on oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. While China drills for oil off the coast of Cuba, access to offshore oil is restricted on both the East and West coasts of America and, of course, in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. According to the Department of Interior's 1987 resource evaluation of ANWR's Coastal Plain, there is a 95% chance that a 'super field' with 500 million barrels would be discovered. Too Little, Way Too Late. Why has the Democratic Party done everything in its power for more than 30 years to suppress domestic production of oil? Let's consider some sources of petroleum that the Democrats have blocked. ANWR is estimated to have the capacity to produce 1,000,000 barrels per day. Currently, around 1.5 million barrels per day are produced in the Gulf of Mexico; if the Obama administration would stop blocking permits and allow that production to increase by only 20 percent, that would be 300,000 barrels per day. Then there is the Keystone pipeline. The administration would like to block its construction, which would prevent 900,000 barrels per day from entering the U.S. Despite $4 gas, Obama boots Shell from Arctic drill site. EPA Rules Force Shell to Abandon Oil Drilling Plans. Shell Oil Company has announced it must scrap efforts to drill for oil this summer in the Arctic Ocean off the northern coast of Alaska. The decision comes following a ruling by the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board to withhold critical air permits. ... The closest village to where Shell proposed to drill is Kaktovik, Alaska. It is one of the most remote places in the United States. According to the latest census, the population is 245 and nearly all of the residents are Alaska natives. The village, which is one square mile, sits right along the shores of the Beaufort Sea, 70 miles away from the proposed off-shore drill site. Somewhat related... Environmentalists push to keep U.S., others from oil drilling in Arctic. Environmentalists are toiling to stop a modern-day gold rush at the top of the world, as the U.S. and four other countries scramble to stake claims to potentially vast oil riches under the frozen waters of the Arctic Sea. Environmental activists such as Greenpeace are opposed to any resource extraction in the region. House passes bill to speed Arctic drilling. The House on Wednesday [6/22/2011] passed legislation that would accelerate offshore drilling in the Arctic by curtailing environmental reviews of coastal oil exploration projects. The measure, sponsored by Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., and Rep. Gene Green, D-Texas, aims to remove legal and regulatory barriers that have stalled Shell Oil Co.'s bid to drill in Arctic waters near Alaska. Energy Secretary: I'm Not Going To Talk About Drilling In ANWR But There Are Other Sites. After testifying before the House Energy and Water Development Subcommittee about his department's FY2012 budget, CNSNews.com asked Energy Secretary Steven Chu if — given the high price of gasoline — he supports increasing offshore drilling and opening up ANWR [Arctic National Wildlife Refuge] to domestic drilling? Chu responded, "I'm not going to talk about ANWR, but I think there's many areas in the arctic that are potential exploration sites. Murkowski calls for new energy policy, more domestic drilling. Amid rising energy prices, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is urging the formulation of a national energy policy that expands U.S. oil drilling and creates alternatives to reduce consumption, both of which would provide greater control over energy prices. In the weekly Republican radio address, the ranking member on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee said her party is prepared to "end the de facto moratorium on new development in the Gulf of Mexico and parts of the Rocky Mountain West." Murkowski uses rising gas prices to call for opening Alaska's oil fields. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), citing rising gas prices, called on the administration Thursday [3/10/2011] to open up Alaska's oil reserves for further exploration. "We are the only country that has identified a huge resource base and then absolutely refused to use it," said Murkowski, referring to her state's massive oil reserves that remain untapped because of their designation as a wildlife refuge. "We need to develop a coherent national energy policy." Americans Back Offshore, ANWR Drilling. With the price of gas up 39 cents at the pump in a month and heading higher amid turmoil in much of the Middle East, Americans wonder why the U.S. isn't doing more to exploit its own oil resources. They favor drilling in territorial waters, 67%-29%, according to a new IBD/TIPP poll. That is up from 61%-30% from last May and 64%-25% when Republicans touted drilling in the 2008 election as oil topped $147 a barrel. Now Can We Drill In Alaska? Alaska's governor attacks President Obama's hostility to oil states and warns that ever-higher oil prices will doom economic recovery. The polar bears are doing fine. The American economy is not. Interior Secretary Says Drilling in Arctic Will Not Lead to Energy Independence. When asked why the Obama administration opposes drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) given the rising cost of gasoline, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar told CNSNews.com that the "drill, baby, drill program" is not going to lead the United States to energy independence. The left's drive toward $8 gas. Mr. Obama and congressional Democrats have blocked drilling in places like Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, in millions of acres of federal lands and in offshore locations. Mr. Obama even took advantage of the BP oil disaster to shut down operations in the Gulf of Mexico. Mr. Obama points to the small amount of oil currently produced at home to conclude, "We can't drill our way out of the problem." That's only a true statement as long as the current policies place 67 percent of America's reserves off-limits. National Monument Status Urged For Arctic Refuge. President Obama is being urged to bestow national monument status on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for its 50th anniversary in what supporters say would finally put the refuge's coastal plain beyond the reach of oil companies. Eco-Insanity and ANWR. Alaska comprises 378 million acres. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuse consists of 19.5 million acres. The area in question where the drilling would occur involves only 1.5 million acres and, of that, only about 2,000 acres would be utilized. ... The area designated for drilling is far from a "pristine" wonderland. While there are parts of Alaska that are breathtakingly beautiful, ANWR is a perfect definition for "when Hell freezes over." Arctic refuge is back as an oil, environment battleground. Drilling supporters — especially Alaska's lawmakers, Republicans and Democrats alike — are upset over a federal review that could end up closing the door to drilling there, ever. The decision by the Fish and Wildlife Service to review three refuge areas for possible designation as wilderness didn't make it on the national radar when it was announced Monday [9/27/2010]. But in Alaska, the reaction was swift and clear, since the refuge is thought to have 11 billion barrels of recoverable oil. Deepwater Horizon: A Tragedy Four Decades in the Making. The incessant media and political chatter about the oil spill overlook the broader context and a key culprit: the government. Federal policy of the last 40 years has increasingly denied access to domestic oil resources. BP is drilling for oil one mile beneath the surface of the Gulf and 50 miles from the coast of Louisiana not because the U.S. has run out of more easily recoverable oil, but because the federal government has erected off-limits signs across energy-rich areas in western states, Alaska, and nearer to shore. Did someone mention the Deepwater Horizon oil spill? Outside senators ask Obama to make ANWR monument. Several U.S. senators and conservation groups have written a letter to President Obama, urging him to make the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge a national monument — but critics say ANWR's resources are too important to ignore. ANWR contains millions of untouched acres and potentially billions of barrels of oil. At present, 92 percent of ANWR is off-limits to oil and gas exploration, but conservationists are hoping to keep the refuge off the table forever. Misconceptions and Myths. [Scroll down] The USGS has determined that ANWR holds between 5.7 and 16 billion barrels of oil. This could manifest as 36 million gallons per day of gasoline, jet and diesel fuel, heating oil, and other products. With ANWR, we can produce 20% of domestic need while reducing reliance on OPEC. The Department of Energy estimates that the USA consumers use about 178 million gallons of gasoline per day. So, with ANWR, we can produce 20% of this domestically while reducing reliance on OPEC for crude oil imports. Federal review of Arctic refuge could lead to more drilling limits. For the first time in two decades, federal wildlife managers will take a look at how they administer the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, including the possibility of asking Congress to make 1.5 million acres of the long-disputed coastal plain off limits to oil and gas development by designating it as wilderness. The Great Green Land Grab. As far as environmentalists are concerned, private property rights are an impediment to the "protection" of what they always describe as "pristine" forests, deserts, or some horrid wilderness such as the Alaskan National Wildlife Reserve. ANWR is unfit for human habitation, but it does have countless thousands of caribou and several billion barrels of untapped oil beneath a "pristine" surface. ANWR — Trillion-dollar Arctic cathedral. The real issue in ANWR is the proper use of the fiscal assets of the U.S. government. The oil there is worth, minimally, $500 billion in gross value and, potentially, $1 trillion dollars or more — depending obviously on the future world price of oil. With the current dire economic situation, and federal deficits projected to approach a trillion dollars in the next year or two, the United States can no longer afford to leave this immensely valuable economic asset to simply sit idle. Facts about the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: The 19-million-acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) lies in the northeast corner of Alaska. The Coastal Plain area, comprising 1.5 million acres on the northern edge of ANWR, is bordered on the north by the Beaufort Sea, on the east by the U.S. Canadian border, and on the west by the Canning River. The Coastal Plain of ANWR is being considered for oil and gas development since it potentially holds billions of barrels of recoverable oil and trillions of cubic feet of recoverable gas. Of the 1.5 million acres of the Coastal Plain, less than 2000 acres would be affected by development. Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: The issue. Most geologists agree that the potential of recoverable oil on the Coastal Plain is in the order of billions of barrels and trillions of cubic feet of recoverable gas and that these resources may rival the initial reserves at Prudhoe Bay. The validity of these estimates can only be proved by drilling exploratory wells. Before oil and gas development in the Coastal Plain can proceed, Congress and the President need to authorize leasing and development. Top ten reasons to support ANWR development. [#8] No Negative Impact on Animals. Oil and gas development and wildlife are successfully coexisting in Alaska 's arctic. For example, the Central Arctic Caribou Herd (CACH) which migrates through Prudhoe Bay has grown from 3000 animals to its current level of 32,000 animals. The arctic oil fields have very healthy brown bear, fox and bird populations equal to their surrounding areas. What is ANWR and where is it? The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was originally formed on Dec. 6, 1960 with an original size of 8.9 million acres. In 1980 and 1983 ANWR was added to for a current size of 19.6 million acres comprising of three distinct legal areas of use within its borders. Despite its name ANWR is NOT entirely "refuge". The southern part of ANWR taking 9.16 million acres is classified as officially "Refuge". The central 8 million acres of ANWR is classified as "Wilderness". Making The Case For Anwr Development: Eighty-eight percent of the energy for America's transportation, industry, government and residential needs comes from oil, gas and coal. No combination of conservation, technology or alternatives can come close to replacing these fossil fuels. It will take years for research, testing, permitting, construction, and distribution systems for replacement alternatives to be realized. When alternative energy sources become practical and economical, Americans will use them. Until then, fossil fuels must be relied upon. The case for drilling in ANWR. I am dismayed that legislation has again been introduced in Congress to prohibit forever oil and gas development in the most promising unexplored petroleum province in North America — the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, in Alaska. Let's not forget: Only six months ago, oil was selling for nearly $150 per barrel, while Americans were paying $4 a gallon and more for gasoline. And today, there is potential for prices to rebound as OPEC asserts its market power and as Russia disrupts needed natural gas to Europe for the second time in three years. Drilling in ANWR remains off limits, despite growing support. For weeks, nearly every time President Bush has spoken about energy he has re-emphasized his support for drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Pressured by constituents whose budgets have been strained by high gasoline prices, there's also movement in Congress to explore more domestic sources of energy, particularly offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. And as gas prices continue to climb, polls have shown that people who once refused to consider drilling offshore or in ANWR have begun to change their minds. Salazar says he would consider tapping oil in Alaska refuge. But the Interior secretary says 'directional drilling' from outside ANWR boundaries would be allowed only if it could be shown that the refuge's wildlife and environment would not be disturbed. Environmentalists with Oil on Their Hands. BP now drills in 5,000 feet of ocean because these better alternatives have been foreclosed to the oil industry. Environmental groups have effectively stymied this safe and relatively easy production of oil in the name of some higher but more nebulous good. Where they once rationalized their campaign against oil companies based upon the threat of environmental degradation, environmental groups now use the increasingly dubious claims of global warming to justify their obstruction. Let's See the Votes. Here is information and a list of votes compiled by Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), ranging from 1995 to 2008, on off-shore drilling and drilling in ANWR. Take a look and decide for yourself who is to blame for stopping drilling in the OCS and in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR). Bush again calls for drilling in Alaska wildlife preserve. With gasoline prices reaching yet another new high today, President Bush reiterated his call to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling and defended his policy of adding crude to the nation's emergency oil stockpile. But Bush declined to jump into the political fray over whether the federal government should give motorists a tax holiday on federal excise tax on gasoline. Our elected leaders are the problem. Drill in ANWR! A 1998 United States Geological Survey (USGS) study indicates that there are a minimum of 4.3 billion and possibly (though unlikely) as many as 11.8 billion barrels of oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). But ANWR, for all the press it has received, is only the tip of the oil iceberg. John K. Carlisle, of the National Center for Public Policy Research, claims that the US likely has more than 110 billion barrels total of recoverable oil (which is five times the estimated current supply). But we are not drilling for this oil. Why? The Bid To Drill Oil: Alaska is the No. 2 supplier of energy to the rest of the U.S. Prudhoe Bay alone produces 400,000 barrels a day. But ANWR could turn out 876,000 barrels of oil a day, DOE says, with reserves at a median estimate at 10.4 billion barrels. Some forecasts are as high as 16 billion, said John Cogan, an industry attorney at McDermott, Will & Emery in Houston. Too dumb to be true. There is no country in the world with richer or more varied energy resources than the United States. Alas, there also is no country with more rigid and senseless environmental restrictions that prevent us from utilizing those resources. If you can't drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, an uninhabited, pestilence-ridden wasteland where the proposed drilling site comprises an area roughly the size of Boston Airport vis-à-vis the state of Massachusetts, where can you? A Step Back From Enviro Lunacy. The ANWR ban is the work of environmental restriction groups that depend on direct-mail fundraising to pay their bills and keep their jobs. That means they must always claim the sky is falling. ... ANWR is a precious cause for them because it can be portrayed (dishonestly) as a national treasure and because the pressure for drilling there has been unrelenting. Drilling in ANWR will Cut Gas Costs. Record high prices are having a major impact on American consumers and businesses, from the way people travel to the way they do business to the food they buy at the grocery store. Congress has the ability to decrease prices at the pump and get our nation back to $2 a gallon gas — and it means accessing our nation's available resources and opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) today. Rep. Bachmann Reports From ANWR: 'Drill It or Lose It'. There's absolutely no reason not to drill in ANWR and begin doing so immediately. The problem, really, is the permitting process has so many artificial delays in it and also there are about 11 different points in that permitting process where lawsuits can be filed to stop production. Who Is Really Responsible For The High Prices You Pay For Gasoline? For the last 28 years, Democrats in Congress and a few Republicans have again and again opposed our drilling for oil in Alaska's ANWR area when we knew it contained at least 10 billion barrels of oil we could be using now. For the past 31 years, Congress repeatedly prevented us from building any new oil refineries that we now badly need. More recently, congressional Democrats defeated and discouraged any bill that would let us drill in the deep sea 100 miles out. However, it's somehow OK for China to drill there. The High Cost of Saving ANWR: For 20 years, environmentalists, Democrats, and a few misguided Republicans have been busy keeping Big Oil out of ANWR and out of the oil fields on the Coastal Shelves, where there are an estimated 635 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, enough to heat 60 million American homes for a century, and 115 billion barrels of oil, enough to replace 100% of the oil we now buy from OPEC for 21 years. At $130 a barrel,that would cut out trade deficit by $5.4 trillion over 21 years. ANWR Not the Frosty Paradise It's Cracked Up To Be. ANWR inspires awe almost entirely in those who haven't been there. It is an environmental Brigadoon or Shangri-La, a fabled land almost no one will ever see. That is its appeal. People like the idea that there are still Edens "out there" even if they will never, ever see them. Indeed, if Americans could visit the north coast of Alaska, as I have, as easily as they can visit the Grand Canyon, the oil would be flowing by now. Oil companies spend more on taxes than on oil supply development. According the Energy Information agency, there is a daily supply deficit approaching one-million barrels a day. Coincidently, this approximates the amount of oil that is projected to be lifted out of ANWR in Alaska that the Democrats with assistance from a few Republicans have been blocking for almost three decades. Alaska drilling is no quick fix, but it needs to happen. Environmentalists charge that drilling would despoil a pristine area in northern Alaska that is about the size of South Carolina and is a critical habitat for caribou, musk oxen, bears and birds. In fact, exploration in the 19 million-acre refuge would be confined to 1.5 million acres, and drilling to just 2,000 acres, an area less than half that of Atlanta's airport. Oil Woes Left and Right: Just to deprive OPEC of a few of our dollars would justify any number of conservation efforts — to say nothing of drilling in the 1percent of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge that contains oil (perhaps, say some estimates, more than Prudhoe Bay). Those pictures we've all seen of moose and caribou against a backdrop of verdant mountains are a fraud. The coastal plain, where drilling is proposed, is flat, barren, and characterized by unforgiving permafrost. The Media's 'Green is Good' Philosophy Strangles our Energy Policy. ANWR's trillions of dollars worth of oil are a particular conundrum for the candidates. On one hand, that oil helps push America toward a fantasy of "energy independence." On the other, it offends environmentalists who oppose drilling and use of oil. Meanwhile, gas prices continue to rise. And the congressional "solution" to the gas crisis is to stop filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve -- just 70,000 barrels of oil a day. The U.S. uses about 21 million barrels each day. Oil Crisis Will Be Solved By Resources, Not Gimmicks. Thus far, the debate about accessing those resources closest to home has focused on Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR). Congress ridiculously refuses to green-light the project. I say "ridiculous" because concerns about preserving the vast swaths of nature and the caribou there are not serious: Congress would be giving a go-ahead to oil exploration on 2,000 — or 0.01 percent — of ANWR's 19 million acres, which can supply 5 percent of America's oil per year for 12 years, according to the U.S. Energy Department. The problems in the solutions: Congress, doing the bidding of environmental extremists, created our energy supply problem. Oil and gas exploration in a tiny portion of the coastal plain of Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would, according to a 2002 U.S. Geological Survey's estimate, increase our proven domestic oil reserves by about 50 percent. The Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and eastern Gulf of Mexico offshore areas have enormous reserves of oil and natural gas. Congress has also placed these energy sources of oil off-limits. Gas prices blame game: The best way to cut prices in the long run would be to increase supplies. Policymakers could help do so if they would allow drilling off-shore and in a tiny section of Alaska's barren Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It makes no sense to keep so much domestic oil off-limits, especially with prices climbing. How much have the Democrats cost you at the pump? Senator Chuck Schumer claims that coercing Saudi Arabia to increase oil production by 1 million barrels a day would drop the per barrel price by $25, saving Americans 62 cents per gallon at the gas pump. Yet, somehow, that same amount of oil coming from Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would only ease oil prices by a penny. Seward's Folly: He bought vast mineral riches for pennies on the dollar. In 1867, Russia sold Alaska to the U.S. for a bit more than $7 million — less than $0.02 per acre. William H. Seward, the U.S. Secretary of State who was responsible for pushing this sale, was considered by some to be foolish. Even though the purchase had public support, it was branded as "Seward's Folly." Unfortunately, even to this day, most Americans lack any understanding of the 49th state's history and its amazing geologic wealth. Start Drilling. It may surprise Americans to discover that the United States is the third-largest oil producer, behind Saudi Arabia and Russia. We could be producing more, but Congress has put large areas of potential supply off-limits. These include the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and parts of Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico. By government estimates, these areas may contain 25 billion to 30 billion barrels of oil (against about 30 billion barrels of proven U.S. reserves today) and 80 trillion cubic feet or more of natural gas (compared with about 200 tcf of proven reserves). Congress needs to get out of the way and let U.S. tap its oil supply. With gasoline at historic high prices and admittedly headed higher, [Rep. Betty] Sutton remains firmly against drilling in our Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other untapped domestic sources that environmentalists jealously guard, beyond common sense. The nation's economy is totally geared to using oil, and unless Congress comes to its senses and allows ANWR and other abundant untapped domestic oil sources to be drilled, the U.S. will remain at the mercy of foreign oil suppliers for many years to come, despite all our conservation efforts and hoped-for but still-unrealized alternative energy and fuel plans. Alaska senators make another push for oil drilling in ANWR. Hoping to capitalize on consumer concern about gasoline prices, Alaska's two Republican senators introduced legislation Thursday that would allow oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge if the price of oil hits $125 a barrel. With oil hovering near $110 a barrel and gasoline expected to reach $4 a gallon, Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Ted Stevens said that they hoped the continuing price spiral would spark consumer clamor and overcome opposition to opening the wildlife refuge to drilling. The Editor says... Why wait for $125 a barrel? This issue should have come up when oil hit $40 a barrel. This is an original compilation, Copyright © 2013 by Andrew K. Dart More drilling, please. How much more pain must Americans endure before our masters in Washington let oil companies punch a few holes in the Alaskan tundra? Must we shiver pennilessly in the dark before we may extract new domestic petroleum deposits? Or shall we simply keep buying $111 barrels of oil from people who want us dead? McCain Needs To Add ANWR To Energy Plan. We import two-thirds of our oil, sending hundreds of billions of dollars to the likes of Russia, Venezuela and Saudi Arabia. And yet we voluntarily prohibit ourselves from even exploring huge domestic reserves of petroleum and natural gas. At a time when U.S. crude oil production has fallen 40% in the last 25 years, 75 billion barrels of oil have been declared off-limits, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That would be enough to replace every barrel of non-North American imports (oil trade with Canada and Mexico is a net economic and national security plus) for 22 years. Green movement also behind gas hike. What if we had our own Iraq-sized supply that we haven't even touched yet? We do. According to the U.S. Geological Survey and American Petroleum Institute, we have at least 112 billion barrels of undrilled oil — "enough to produce gasoline for 60 million cars and fuel oil for 25 million homes for 60 years." By comparison, Iraq has 115 billion barrels and Venezuela 80 billion. At least 16 billion barrels of our oil is in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Drilling would only touch 8 percent of 17 million acres — but environmentalists say it's off-limits. ANWR Passes House For the TENTH Time! ANWR passed the House of Representatives today as a standalone measure in HR 5429 for the tenth time, showing the majority support for exploration in the 10-02 Area by the people's representatives. … This was a straight-up vote on opening the 10-02 Area. The Senate, which also has a majority support for ANWR and passed an ANWR measure this March in a Budget Resolution, will now receive HR 5429 and debate it. American-Made Energy from ANWR at a Modest Cost. Congress has failed to remove restrictions on oil drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). ANWR is America's single largest untapped source of oil. A new bill, the American-Made Energy Freedom Act (H.R. 5890), would open it to energy production. Other provisions in the bill are problematic, particularly those that would use the billions in ANWR leasing and royalty revenues to fund alternative energy projects. Loons and Bears Versus Eskimos and Oil: "A petition seeking Endangered Species Act protection for a rare loon that breeds in Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve has been accepted for review by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service," noted a May 29, 2007 Associated Press article. "Conservationists hope an eventual listing of the yellow-billed loon will curb petroleum development in the 23-million acre reserve that covers much of Alaska's North Slope." So, at a time when a $100 barrel of oil makes economies around the world quiver, the "conservationists" are more interested in a yellow-billed loon than in your ability to drive to work, pick up the kids at school, or just go anywhere in your car. Arctic refuge drilling to get new vote in House. Alaska's two Republican lawmakers said they would continue to push to advance ANWR drilling. Sen. Ted Stevens, chairman of the Commerce Committee, said ANWR drilling could be included in a package of energy legislation that Republicans are drafting for possible consideration this summer. For Stevens, ANWR drilling is debt unpaid. The Incredible Hulk appeared Tuesday [12/20/2005] on the Senate floor, adorning the necktie of Sen. Ted Stevens – a familiar sign that the veteran from Alaska is pumped for the fight to open part of an arctic wildlife refuge to oil drilling. But to hear his colleagues tell it, Stevens is more like the Grinch who would steal Christmas – and New Year's, if need be – to collect on his end of a vote-swapping deal he struck with two Democrats 25 years ago. Three Things to Know About Drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: (#3) Alaskans overwhelmingly favor drilling for oil in ANWR. Over 75 percent of Alaskans support oil exploration and production on ANWR's coastal plain. In addition, general support among Americans for drilling in ANWR is on the rise, according to a September 2005 poll conducted by the Pew Research Center. ANWR factors: The Interior Department has estimated that "ANWR could produce nearly 1.4 million barrels of oil" per day. Had President Clinton not vetoed the 1995 congressional authorization to explore for oil in ANWR, production there would be in full swing now. Democrats to fight Arctic oil drilling. Senate Democrats on Monday [12/19/2005] threatened a filibuster to stop Republicans from adding language to a must-pass defense spending bill that would allow oil drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). The refuge, an area the size of South Carolina that sprawls along Alaska's northern coast, has been at the center of a bitter congressional debate for decades. The refuge is home to caribou, polar bears, migratory birds and other wildlife. [The "other wildlife" is mostly flies, and the proposed drilling area is only 2,000 acres, not "the size of South Carolina." There we have two examples of media bias in the first two sentences.] ANWR exploration: energy for the West Coast. At the height of production in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Alaska produced as many as two million barrels of crude oil a day. While some was and is refined for in-state use in Alaska, the bulk of the North Slope crude produced at that time provided 55 percent of all the oil consumed on the West Coast. Top 10 reasons to support development in ANWR: In 2004 the US imported an average of 58% of its oil and during certain months up to 64%. That equates to over $150 billion in oil imports and over $170 billion including refined petroleum products. That's 19.9 million dollars an hour! Democrats block defense bill with Alaska drilling. Senate Democrats succeeded on Wednesday [12/21/2005] in blocking, for now, a Republican plan to allow oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as part of a massive $453 billion war-time military spending bill. Fred states the obvious... Thompson: Tapping Arctic oil will help reduce gas prices. Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson said Wednesday [12/5/2007] that tapping oil reserves in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would help lower gas prices. How Long Could Your State Run on ANWR Oil? Nearly all geological experts who have studied the area agree that ANWR represents America's largest untapped onshore prospect for oil and gas. According to mean estimates from the U.S. Geological Survey, ANWR would produce 10.4 billion barrels of new domestic oil. Just how much is 10.4 billion barrels? It's enough to replace more than 30 years worth of oil imported from Saudi Arabia or over 58 years of oil imported from Iraq. Senate Votes to Open Alaskan Oil Drilling. A closely divided Senate voted Wednesday [3/16/2005] to approve oil drilling in an Alaska wildlife refuge, a major victory for President Bush and a stinging defeat for environmentalists who have fought the idea for decades. By a 51–to–49 vote, the Senate put a refuge drilling provision in next year's budget, depriving opponents of the chance to use a filibuster to try to block it. Filibusters, which require 60 votes to overcome, have been used to defeat drilling proposals in the past. ANWR and Our Nation's Energy Future. Many of the same people that are now complaining about our dependence on foreign oil consistently oppose opening Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to production. This is not some radical idea. The 1980 law that doubled the size of ANWR to 19 million acres explicitly called for Congress to develop a process through which exploration and production could be conducted on the 2000 acre Coastal Plain. Yet, across the past 24 years, anti-development forces in Congress have ignored America's energy needs and, through the use of filibusters, prevented oil and gas development. This inaction is irresponsible. Our fake drilling debate: Few opponents of energy development in what they call "pristine" ANWR have visited it. Those who have and think it is "pristine" must have visited during the 56 days a year when it is without sunlight. They missed the roads, stores, houses, military installations, airstrip and school. They did not miss seeing the trees in area 1002. There are no trees. Section 1002 is not a pristine area. Opponents of drilling in ANWR claim it is the nation's last true wilderness, a hallowed place, and a pristine environmental area. Though such attributes describe much of ANWR, they do not accurately portray the 1002 Area. Remember this when you're paying $3.00 a gallon for self-service unleaded: Activists Launch "No Oil from ANWR" Campaign. Environmentalists have announced an "unprecedented, coordinated nationwide summer campaign" to block passage of legislation that would allow oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It worked. Senate Democrats Put Enviros' Dollars Before National Security. America can't produce all the oil it needs domestically. This means that we rely on oil from countries with interests often hostile to our own. Allowing oil and gas production in ANWR won't end this reliance but it would reduce it and thus make our country less vulnerable to either petro-blackmail or temporary disruptions in supply. Accordingly, the Senate's action was stunning and irresponsible. Serious About Gas Prices. Solutions include opening a small portion in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil and gas production. If there is as much oil as the U.S. Geological Survey's mean estimate shows, this would increase America's proven domestic oil reserves by approximately 50 percent. There is majority support in both the House and Senate for opening ANWR, but an obstructionist minority blocked enactment last year. The ANWR Defeat is a Big Blow to Energy Independence. "ANWR is important not only for the oil it will provide, but for the precedent it sets," said NCPA Senior Fellow H. Sterling Burnett. "With oil selling for more than 50 dollars per barrel, drilling on other public lands could contribute billions of barrels of oil that currently are off limits to drilling." "ANWR should have received an up or down vote," said Burnett. "But political maneuvering by Senate Democrats beholden to environmental lobbyists have once again prevented that." Alaskan oil and wildlife: The potentially oil-rich area is a flat, treeless stretch of tundra, 3,500 miles from D.C. and 50 miles from the beautiful mountains seen in all the misleading anti-drilling photos. During eight months of winter, when drilling would take place, virtually no wildlife are present. No wonder. Winter temperatures drop as low as minus 40°F. The tundra turns rock solid. Spit, and your saliva freezes before it hits the ground. But the nasty conditions mean drilling can be done with ice airstrips, roads and platforms. Come spring, they would all melt, leaving only puddles and little holes. American-Made Energy from ANWR at a Modest Cost. Oil and gasoline prices remain high, and two wars raging in the Middle East could drive prices up further still. Yet Congress has failed to remove restrictions on oil drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). ANWR is America's single largest untapped source of oil. A new bill, the American-Made Energy Freedom Act (H.R. 5890), would open it to energy production. … The frustrating bottom line is that ANWR oil is still off-limits. America remains the only nation on earth that has restricted access to such a promising domestic petroleum source. Oil Prices and the Media: Don't Believe the Hype. With regard to folks blocking drilling for oil in ANWR due to environmental concerns, U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA) offered the following analogy: If ANWR was the size of a basketball court, the proposed area for drilling would be the size of a dollar bill. He also said that if President Clinton had not vetoed ANWR drilling in 1995, the U.S. domestic oil supply be 20 percent higher today. The Caribou Con: In Search of ANWR Truth. Estimates of the size of the Porcupine Caribou herd vary, but approximately 123,000 seems to be the best current estimate. Despite all the speculation about the potential effects ANWR oil exploration might have on the herd, the greatest single, ever-present threat — their harsh natural habitat, including weather, food supply and predation — is almost never discussed beyond research papers. During a series of severe winters in the early 1990s, weather conditions alone depleted approximately 15 percent of the herd. Opening ANWR: Long Overdue. In Washington, support for opening ANWR falls mostly along party lines, with only a few Democrats in favor. But that is not so in Alaska. In Alaska's 2004 Senate race, both candidates accused each other of not being sufficiently pro-drilling. … Alaskan residents would share in the leasing revenues, as they have with Prudhoe Bay, located west of ANWR. Prudhoe Bay has delivered billions of barrels of crude through the Alaskan oil pipeline since the 1970s. Drilling in ANWR — It's closer than ever. The combination of skyrocketing oil prices, more environmentally friendly ways of drilling and transporting oil, and the prospect of long-term, high-paying jobs has given the project a political boost. 'Truth' About ANWR: Tell It All, Sarah James. If [Sarah] James tells Congress the whole truth, she will say that in 1971 the Gwich'in was virtually alone among native tribes in electing not to participate in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA). To have done so would have required sharing, with the other tribes, in Alaskan natural resource revenues. Instead, the Gwich'in chose to own, control and keep for themselves all revenues from 1.8 million acres in their former reservation. Behind the ANWR Scare Tactics: Most people now recognize [President] Bush urges oil and gas drilling in Alaska in order to reduce the massive U.S. oil dependency on unfriendly, unstable and erratic foreign governments. The Interior Department estimates Alaska's 1.5 million-acre Coastal Plain has from 10 billion to 16 billion barrels of recoverable oil. Drilling engineers believe recent technological advances would require as few as 2,000 surface acres to recover the underlying oil and natural gas -- meaning just one acre for every 10,000 acres in the refuge area. America can safely seek new oil. It will be several decades at least before alternative fuel vehicles and the infrastructure needed to fuel them will be developed enough to satisfy America's transportation needs. Additionally, oil is a critical component of plastics, pharmaceuticals, fertilizers, lubricants and construction materials. This means that Americans will need oil well into this century. Unfortunately, the United States uses more oil than it can produce, making it dependent on supplies from politically unstable parts of the world. While America will never have complete energy independence, Congress should remove obstacles to domestic production both to reduce energy prices and so that, in times of crisis, America's prosperity is not held hostage to hostile foreign powers. Oil Drilling in Alaska: To put the size of the ANWR in perspective, keep in mind that Alaska contains 591,000 square miles, or about 378,000,000 acres. The ANWR is five percent of Alaska or 19 million acres. Of these acres, eight percent have been proposed for development, and only one percent would be affected by oil production. This means that about 15,000 acres, or .004 percent of Alaska, would be affected. Actual production facilities including roads, drilling pads, living quarters, and pipelines would cover a thousand acres. White House Committed to ANWR Drilling Despite Senate Opposition. Two years after President Bush first offered his domestic energy plan, the administration remains confident Congress will send him a bill that opens the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil drilling. Battle over oil drilling in arctic refuge heats up. Members of Congress who have successfully blocked oil drilling in the Arctic refuge for more than a decade vowed to do everything, including a Senate filibuster, to protect the Alaskan preserve this year. Arctic oil: Facts versus Fiction. The truth is that the latest U.S. Geological Survey estimates are that the entire "1002 Area" contains up to 16 billion barrels of recoverable oil. If found, this oil could replace all of our imports from Saudi Arabia for more than 30 years! The reserve could prevent our dependence on foreign oil from getting any worse for decades. Rather than being 56 percent dependent like we are now, it could cut our dependence to around 50 percent, according to the Energy Information Agency. Murkowski Expected to Offer ANWR Amendment. The amendment, if approved, would authorize oil drilling in ANWR but limit surface area development in the ANWR to 2,000 acres. Limiting development to 2,000 acres would mean that more than 99 percent of ANWR's 19 million acres would remain untouched. Exploration would not negatively affect the environment and it would provide thousands of jobs and decrease America's dependence on foreign oil. Editor's Note: The author of the following article paints a very detailed picture of ANWR, including the flies and mosquitos, the cold, the wind, nights that last for months, and the complete emptiness of this part of Alaska. He also provides very interesting information about the extremely tight environmental restrictions already in place which make working there nearly impossible. Ugh, Wilderness! — The horror of ANWR, the American elite's favorite hellhole. Before you can appreciate what a small presence human beings have up here, you need to understand how mind-bogglingly huge — and devoid of people — Alaska really is. Alaska has a population not much greater than that of the nation's capital, but you could fit the District of Columbia into it more than 9,000 times. You could squeeze California into it almost four times; New York State, more than eleven times. Say "No" to Terrorists By Saying "Yes" to ANWR. America currently imports 1.5 million barrels of oil a day from Saudi Arabia. ANWR oil could replace nearly all we currently import from the Saudis for almost 30 years, or replace one-half of our imports from all of the Persian Gulf for 36 years. Drilling also could provide between 250,000 and 735,000 new jobs. Alaska Bucks the Feds and Invites More Oil Production. Tired of the federal government hampering its economy by prohibiting natural resource recovery from federal lands located in the state, the Alaskan state government has taken matters into its own hands and opened more of its non-federal lands to oil and gas recovery. State and federal legislators from Alaska have expressed overwhelming support for ANWR resource recovery but have been frustrated by a block of East Coast Senators claiming to be better at managing Alaskan lands than Alaska residents themselves. New England lawmakers push drilling ban: They've never been to Alaska or seen the coastal plain, but two New England lawmakers are leading the fight in the U.S. House to ban oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. ANWR's Private Potential: President Bush thinks the oil beneath the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is more valuable to society than the untrammeled wilderness above it. Environmentalists, of course, think the opposite. Who's right? If we want the reserve's maximum benefits for the American people, we should let market agents, not politicians, decide how best to use the reserve. High-gas-price blues? Blame the greens. ANWR is the symbol for the greens' war on fossil fuel. Any use of fossil fuels is bad, according to the green gospel, and government should force society to turn to "alternative" fuels. This idiotic belief has resulted in regulations that add to the upward pressure on gas prices. For example, fuel producers now have to formulate as many as 18 different blends to accommodate EPA requirements in different markets. Bush Administration To Renew Fight For ANWR Drilling: With Republicans now in control of the U.S. Senate, the Bush administration plans to renew its fight to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, making it a signature piece of its energy plan. Explore Alaska's ANWR. As usual, what's easy is not what's right. And what's right is that America meet its energy needs in the most responsible way possible. That means we produce what we can domestically — and that means we explore ANWR. It's good for the economy. It's good for national security. And it's even good for the environment. The 1002 Area - Why We Should Drill There: When most people mention ANWR, they usually show pictures of beautiful landscapes with wildlife roaming freely. Unfortunately for them, this is not the 1002 Area. Winters on the coastal plain last for nine months; there is total darkness for 58 consecutive days; and temperatures drop to 70 degrees below zero without the wind chill. Summers aren't much better. Although the thick ice melts, it creates puddles on the flat tundra and attracts thousands of mosquitoes. Drilling past the hypocrisy on Alaskan oil: Once, says Greenpeace co-founder Patrick Moore, "truth mattered and science was respected for the knowledge it brought to the debate." But now, "many environmentalists have taken a sharp turn to the ultra left, ushering in a mood of extremism and intolerance." These extremists dominate debates with intolerance, falsehoods and "anti-technology, anti-trade, anti-business, anti-democratic, anti-human" attitudes. Few issues epitomize this depressing state of affairs better than the debate over oil development in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Teamsters May Withdraw Support for ANWR Oil Exploration. One of the nation's most powerful labor unions is "reexamining" its support for drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), a policy it has supported for several years. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which represents 1.4 million workers nationally, has supported expanded drilling in Alaska in the past. But that could change, said Leslie Miller, spokeswoman for the Teamsters, because, as she said, there needs to be a solution in the short term for reducing oil prices and boosting the economy. " The land occupied by the proposed drilling site in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) would be 2,000 acres, which could produce an estimated 1,000,000 barrels of oil per day. In contrast, 2,000 acres covered by windmills could produce the energy equivalent of 1,800 barrels of oil per day. To produce the energy equivalent of ANWR would require a windmill farm of more than 1,000,000 acres, or 1,700 square miles, or five times the size of New York City. This would (not might) kill 22,000 birds every year." How to fight our addiction to Saudi oil: The U.S. Geological Survey says there is a 95 percent probability that at least 6 billion barrels of oil can be recovered from Alaska's ANWR — and that amount could readily go to 10 billion barrels. Others say 16 billion barrels is a reasonable figure. The Sierra Club: The Sierra Club played a pivotal role in defeating the Bush Administration's efforts to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. Now it wants Congress to require impractical and costly renewable energy standards for use of wind and solar power. 9 Out of 10 Caribou Support Drilling: George Bush has proposed drilling in a tiny, desolate portion of Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, or ANWR. According a leading Democratic opponent of the plan, lying is the key to defeating ANWR. ABC-NBC-CBS have been accompanying discussions of ANWR with picturesque footage of caribou frolicking in lush, fertile fields — all of which happens to be nowhere near the site of the proposed drilling. Concession to the Environmentalists' Premise Killed the ANWR Drilling Program: Government exists to establish "the conditions required by man's nature for his proper survival" — not to "preserve" things from man. GOP, Teamsters Plug Away for ANWR: Having settled one blockbuster item in the energy bill — fuel efficiency standards — members of the U.S. Senate now turn to the question of whether to allow oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. "Drill or Die" by Phil Brennan: Radical environmentalists assail the idea of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge — an area they seem to view as their own private property — by promoting flat-out falsehoods. Anti-ANWR Tribe Signed Alaska Oil, Gas Lease in 1980 To drill, or not to drill: There are enough votes to pass the ANWR measure; there are not the 60 votes required to kill a filibuster, which Tom Daschle and the Senate Democrats have promised. Daschle Democrats and environmental extremists contend that drilling will "destroy" the pristine wilderness. What this really means, according to a study just released by the U.S. Geological Survey, is that the range for a herd of 125,000 Porcupine River caribou would be reduced from 19 million acres to 18,998,000 acres. Should the herd get within earshot, they may also have to endure the sound of trucks and equipment operating on the 2,000-acre footprint of the oil operation. Why Not Explore the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska?: We're supposed to believe that it's improper to drill for oil in the remote part of Alaska where the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge sits — where fewer than 1,000 people live in an area the size of South Carolina. And that it's OK — indeed, it's been going on for nearly 100 years — to drill in the environmentally sensitive marshes of Louisiana, a state where 4 million make their homes in fewer than 50,000 square miles. Oil Drilling in Alaska: Endicott, the sixth largest oil field in North America, encompasses only 55 acres. It is possible for oil fields to be small because the oil wells themselves are only ten feet square. They are placed immediately next to one another. The oil is not pumped from the wells but, when the reserve is tapped, the oil flows out under natural pressure. This means that the wells are not only small, but quiet. Modern technology has made it possible to build the oil fields on gravel pads that make a solid foundation for the equipment and insulate the underlying permafrost.  This would make a good T-shirt or bumper sticker. Alaskans Hopeful Democrats Permit ANWR Vote: The media fail to report about what Alaskans think about oil exploration in the Arctic. ANWR Apathy: Does anyone really care if oil wells in Alaska disturb the caribou? While a disconnect between what we want to be true and what is in fact the case might be troubling to most of us, it's minor concern at best to an activist. Somewhat related material: Designers got it right. The Trans Alaska Pipeline System survived the century's biggest slip-fault earthquake. The Trans Alaska Pipeline System is one of the largest pipeline systems in the world. Since 1977, it has successfully transported over 14 billion barrels of oil. Yes, this is the same Alaska Pipeline that the environmentalists said (30 years ago) would wipe out the caribou and ruin the lives of Alaska natives. Their predictions couldn't have been more wrong. The lesson to be learned is this: Environmentalists are some of the most pessimistic people on Earth, and their predictions are always wrong. Shrinking Oil Supplies Put Alaskan Pipeline at Risk. When the famed Trans Alaska Pipeline carried two million barrels of oil a day, the naturally warm crude surged 800 miles to the Port of Valdez in three days and arrived at a temperature of about 100 degrees. Now, dwindling oil production along Alaska's northern edge means the pipeline carries less than one-third the volume it once did — and the crude takes five times as long to get to its destination. Obama war on oil production threatens Alaska pipeline. The House is voting on the Reversing President Obama's Offshore Moratorium Act today which, among other things, would require the administration to allow drilling in at least 50 percent of the Outer Continental Shelf, including the Arctic. Also today, The Wall Street Journal's Russell Gold has a great article on how President Obama's efforts to stop new oil fields in Alaska is threatening to shut down the entire Alaska pipeline. Back to the top of the page CAFE: Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards This subsection has moved to a page of its own, located here. The EPA: This subsection has moved to a page of its own, located here. Back to the top of this page Back to the Home page 
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Document location https://akdart.com/enviro2.html Updated November 19, 2024. Entire contents Copyright 2024 by Andrew K. Dart |