-Caveat Lector-
Jimmy Carter and the Rest of the Democrats Are Dead Wrong on ANWR
by Walter J. Hickel
Posted Sep 23, 2005
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On September 13, Jimmy Carter wrote an article for the Washington Post on
the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge titled Arctic Folly. While I respect
the former President, I strongly disagree with his position on ANWR.
Hurricane Katrina has already taught America much about our nation,
including our energy vulnerability. That one storm removed 1 million
barrels of oil a day from Americas lifelines, contributing to the
previously unimaginable price of $65 per barrel of oil, the skyrocketing
price of gasoline at the pump, and two airlines declaring bankruptcy.
That terrible act of God took us by surprise, and we need to learn from
it.
One lesson is to use the natural resources God gave America to meet our
own needs and to stop relying on the fuel shipped from abroad, especially
from developing nations where it is being ripped from lands and seas with
little heed for the environment.
The first, and most obvious step, is to encourage Congress to open the
most environmentally protected and promising oil province in North
America: the coastal plain of ANWR. This issue is reaching the boiling
point, heated by the hurricane, the high price of oil and environmental
fears fed mostly by misinformation.
Drill for Oil
Congress is poised to forward a budget reconciliation bill to the
President that includes ANWR authorization. If he receives it, he will
sign it, and America can step out from the darkness of ignorance. The
bill will signal that, after 25 years of debate, we have finally found the
courage to face the most shocking environmental issue connected with U.S.
oil consumption: the ongoing rape of oil-rich developing countries that
have virtually no environmental restraints.
For the past 60 years, I have watched or participated in the decisions
regarding Alaskas sweeping coastal plain. In 1967, as governor of Alaska,
I insisted that Atlantic Richfield continue drilling at the North Slope
when it announced plans to pull out. You drill, or I will, was my threat.
They heard me, drilled at Prudhoe Bay, and discovered the largest oil
field in U.S. history, just 55 miles to the west of ANWR.
In 1970, as U.S. secretary of the Interior, I launched the environmental
studies that led to the authorization of the trans-Alaska pipeline. Those
fields and that remarkable pipeline allow millions of Americans today to
fill their gas tanks and heat their homes with energy produced in the U.S.
Without Alaska oil, dependency on foreign imports would rise well above
todays 60% of U.S. daily consumption.
At issue is oil exploration in the so-called 1002 area, one-eighth of the
19-million-acre Arctic Refuge, most of which is set aside permanently from
resource development. This small segment of the coastal plain, however,
has long been recognized as the most promising untapped oil province in
North America. In 1980, Congress mandated it be studied in depth. The
intent was to open the coastal plain carefully and responsibly, not to
lock it up. Unfortunately, since then, Congress has been intimidated by
political pressure from the domestic environmental movement and its
political spokesmen.
The studies of ANWR have long been complete, and Congress is ready to move
forward to allow exploration to begin, but it needs public support. From
an Alaskan point of view, we find it difficult to understand the
opposition, especially from those otherwise credible national figures who
are willing to stretch the truth. Scarcer than domestic energy, it
appears, is domestic integrity.
Meanwhile, the public is victim to a bumper sticker debate. Who then
should you believe? The most credible views are those of the Inupiat
Eskimo who have lived on the coastal plain for thousands of years and have
co-existed with and benefited from oil development; the biologists who
have studied our Arctic wildlife for two generations; and the engineers
who have designed the least disruptive oil development procedures in the
world. The vast majority of these people believe that oil can be
developed on the coastal plain without seriously disturbing the wildlife,
and they know what ANWR oil can do for America.
More Caribou
Here are key facts about North Slope drilling:
* Did you know most wildlife in the 1002 area are present for only six
weeks each year? If you were to fly over the area today, you would find
it difficult to spot any animals at all in what the environmental
community claims is Americas Serengetiour pre-eminent wildlife sanctuary.
And if you were to fly over it during the eight months of winter when
temperatures drop to -70 degrees, you would see even less.
* Did you know North Slope drilling is conducted only in winter to
avoid disturbing the summer wildlife populations and will be strictly
prohibited in ANWR during the caribou calving season from mid-May to
mid-June?
* Did you know Prudhoe Bay is the most environmentally responsible oil
field in the world? It is certainly the best I have seen, and I have
toured the oil patches in all continents but South America.
* Did you know Prudhoe Bay oil production has operated for 28 years
with minimal impact on the wildlife, including the resident Central
caribou herd that has grown from 6,000 to 32,000 animals?
* Did you know not a single wildlife species has decreased in
population at Prudhoe over this period? Not one caribou has even been
killed or harmed by any oil field activity in more than 30 years of human
activity at the Prudhoe Bay oil field.
* Did you know the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service and state agencies such as Environmental Protection and
Fish and Game are required by law to monitor industrial activity in
Alaska, and they do an outstanding job insuring that wildlife and habitat
are protected?
If oil is discovered in the 1002 area and the predictions of 10.3 billion
barrels of oil are correct, the trans-Alaska pipeline can return to full
capacity, doubling its current production to 2 million barrels a day, and
the American people will have the benefit of that increased domestic oil
supply for at least another 30 years.
This will help the U.S. energy-wise and security-wise. As the largest
oil-consuming nation, it will make us more credible in terms of the global
environment. And it will give us some breathing room as we dedicate our
creativity and resources to develop alternative energy sourcesan absolute
must for the next generation.
Mr. Hickel is a former two-time governor of Alaska and served as U.S.
Interior Secretary in the Nixon Administration. His latest book, Crisis in
the Commons: The Alaska Solution, includes an extensive discussion of ANWR
and national energy policy.
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