December 20 , 2005
As the Congress wrapped up its work before the Christmas recess, we devoted our attention to the showdown in the Senate over the addition of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) drilling measure to the defense spending bill. We contacted our Florida representatives in the Senate, and the White House to voice our opposition to (a) the drilling project, and (b) the method by which Senator Ted Stevens attempted to bypass appropriate Congressional process.
We oppose drilling in the AWNR to reach the estimated 10 billion barrells of oil - which are projected to produce perhaps 1 million barrels a day - for the following reasons:
- It will be about 15 years before the oil from AWNR can reach the market, so drilling there will have no possible effects on oil supplies in the near term.
- The potential environmental damage from drilling, construction, and oil transportation to the fragile Arctic ecosystem is significant.
- The USA uses about ¼ of all the world's energy. Each of us in this country use more than 6 times the average of all people in the rest of the world. The White House estimates that the amount of energy wasted in the average US home is between 10 and 50%. Fuel economy of US vehicles is woeful compared to that in Europe and other countries. Savings from conservation would obviate the need to drill in the ANWR. A serious energy conservation campaign led by our national leaders would contribute in a major way to reducing oil requirements.
The focus of our country's attention to meet immediate energy needs should be: (1) on conservation; (2) on the development of alternative sources; and (3) only on expansion of existing carbon-based sources as a last resort.
