The Arctic National Wildlife: Time to Say Enough

The largest oil field in the United States was discovered in the Prudhoe Bay area of Alaska in 1968. Major oil fields were also discovered in other areas of Alaska including Endicott and are believed to exist in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge also known as ANWR. Located in the northeast corner of the state of Alaska and surrounded by controversy is one piece of this 19 million-acre refuge known as the Coastal Plain. What lies beneath the tundra of this vast wilderness has been the center of a decades long debate about whether or not oil development should be allowed to proceed in this remote corner of the world. Although there are several advantages to oil development, the cost to the environment is too high particularly when there are better solutions available that will offer a preferred impact on the environment.

Those who are in favor of oil development in the ANWR claim that it can be done with minimal impact on the environment. A study of the history of oil development in Alaska will prove that the oil industry spends billions of dollars on a system that is based on profits rather than protection of the environment. Environmental studies document "the oil industry's "disturbing record" of non-compliance with state and federal laws and regulations designed to protect the environment". For example, a BP Amoco subcontractor was found guilty in 1995 of illegally injecting hazardous waste back into the groundwater. The BP contractor instructed workers to put toxic materials into the drilling wastes that were re-injected as part of routine drilling operations in order to save BP $1,000 to $1,500 per barrel of waste. The oil companies have a poor track record when it comes to protecting the environment.