Green Witch wrote:The amount of oil in the area is trivial compared to our greedy needs and the damage to the environment could be great. Even the oil companies haven't pushed for it because it wouldn't be worth the exploration expense. Americans have to start looking at the bigger picture and stop being so obsessed with keeping their piggy lifestyles afloat at the risk of destroying the beauty and purity of the earth. Thank God that the Bushies will soon be on their way out of Washington and we can begin to (hopefully) repair the damage they have wrought.
Well according to this source Alaska oil does impact our future....
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/38223.html
"If Congress were to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, crude oil prices would probably drop by an average of only 75 cents a barrel, according to Department of Energy projections issued Thursday.
The report, which was requested in December by Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, found that oil production in the refuge "is not projected to have a large impact on world oil prices."
But the report also finds that opening ANWR could have other benefits, particularly in Alaska, where tapping the resources in the Arctic refuge could extend the lifespan of the trans-Alaska pipeline. It estimates that if Congress agreed to open ANWR this year, Alaskan oil could hit the market in about 10 years.
"I'm coming away from it saying that this is yet another an indicator that opening ANWR is important to this country and to our energy future," said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska."