Should the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge be opened to Oil Drilling?

Drilling oil in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is a serious issue for environmentalists and for the future of the United States. Should the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge be opened to oil drilling? This paper will debate whether or not we should allow Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to be opened to oil drilling. This will also show the impact it has on the environment, and I will show a critical analysis of the current issue of whether or not to drill.

History

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is located in the Northeastern part of Alaska and is the largest wildlife in the country. The ANWR covers more than 19 million acres of forests, mountains, wetlands, tundra, and rivers, and it is the habitat to distinctive and extinct species including sheep, wolves, musk, oxen, migratory birds, caribou, and polar bears (Defenders of Wildlife, 2010). The ANWR was established in 1960 to protect fish, wildlife populations, and habitats in their natural range, plus gives the opportunity for local residents to maintain their subsistence way of life (U.S. Wildlife Service, 2010).

The Arctic Refuge has long been recognized as a place of natural beauty and ecological magnitude. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which manages the Refuge calls it "the only conservation system unit that protects, in an undisturbed condition, a complete spectrum of the arctic ecosystems in North America (Alaska Alpine adventure, n.d.).” Easton (2009) states that “the refuge is designated as a U.S. wilderness area, or an area where the Earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.” Environmentalists stand strong for what they believe that the “Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is an area ...

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...pplications (Custom 5th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill

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Easton, T. (2009). Taking sides: Clashing views on controversial environmental issues. (Custom 13th ed.).New York: McGraw-Hill

U.S. Wildlife Service, . (2010, February 10). Yukon flats national wildlife refuge. Retrieved November 20, 2010 from http://yukonflats.fws.gov/index.htm

Image retrieved November 21, 2010 from http://fedupnetwork.com/2008/06/29/internet-e-mail-about-anwr/

Image retrieved November 21, 2010 from http://www.katu.com/news/photos/95866799.html

National Audubon Society, . (2010). Arctic wildlife impacts. Retrieved from http://www.protectthearctic.com/fact_impacts.html