Oil Drilling in the ArcticJoin now to read essay Oil Drilling in the ArcticThe Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge is one of Americas last great wilderness areas. It is home to many animals such as polar bears, wolves, and grizzly bears, caribou herds, snow geese, musk oxen, and dozens of other species. If your oil companies keep drilling in the Arctic, most of these beautiful creatures will die, and some will become extinct.
The Coastal Plain is home to these animals. Annually, a herd of 129,000 caribou gather on the Coastal Plain to bear and nurse their young. Polar bears rely on the Coastal Plain as their most important on-land denning habitat. Musk oxen, grizzly bears, wolves, wolverines, foxes, golden eagles, and snowy owls gather here to hunt and den. In the fall, the Coastal Plain supports up to 300,000 snow geese which detour to feed from their nesting grounds in Canada. Millions of other birds use the Arctic Refuge to nest and as a critical staging area before they begin migration.
Imagine someone coming into your home and ruining everything you have and possibly killing you. This is what you are doing every time you drill in the Arctic. Oil spills average one spill per day. If your oil industry becomes more developed on the Coastal Plain, hundreds of miles of roads and pipelines leading to dozens of oil fields will block wildlife movements and disturb many species. Toxic wastes may leak from pipelines onto the tundra, contaminating wetlands. Rivers and stream beds, the main habitat for fish and wildlife, will be stripped of millions of tons of gravel to be used to construct roads, airstrips, and drill pads. How are these precious animals supposed to survive under these conditions? Where are they supposed to go?
The Arctic is an exceptionally remote area. On the one hand, that’s because a lot of it dries up and becomes polluted. But it also means there’s plenty of other places to live, fish and wildlife in the area. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, there are about 25 million more acres of pristine forests in the US than there are places to live and fish here. There isn’t quite enough to be safe and sustainable for the future. It’s not that you can’t leave the same place multiple times, just be prepared. In fact, if you find yourself in a situation where you have to leave, there are a number of things you can do to help:
1. Talk to a conservationist
If you don’t have access to the land, call the U.S. Forest Service’s National Wildlife Refuge. They take information from all over the world, from native species to human settlements, and they also have a number of programs that help to find wildlife refuge sites.
2. Find a wildlife refuge
The National Wildlife Refuge Program helps the National Park Service provide land for wildlife refuge lands in the U.S. National Forest System. The NPS also has programs where federal, state, and local landowners, and the federal government work together to provide wildlife refuge sites. You can take advantage of these programs through the NPS. Take a trip to an NPS National Wildlife Refuge visit. The wildlife refuge sites can be beautiful and the wildlife is free from the stress of being shot or grazing. So to find one that will live up to expectations, you may contact the Office of the Wildlife Consultant or check out the National Wildlife Refuge’s website.
3. Take the road for wildlife
If you have access to land, you can take the interstate for wildlife or the highway for wildlife. If that’s not for you, there are a number of ways your road might be better off. It’s also possible to take public land when you have no access to wildlife. A short walk along a paved highway with a tree or brush can make or break a trip. If you want to travel with family, you will want a family car or van. The NPS is even partnering with the National Geographic Society to have a public wildlife refuge as part of its National Geographic Visitor Facility program.
4. Take the interstate for wildlife
If you feel like your road might not be for you, there are a number of ways your road might make or break a trip. Take scenic walkways and trails to wildlife viewing areas like the one in Ophir. In some parts, wildlife sites are open to the public. Try and visit a wildlife walk or wilderness area or try a public park. Take a tour bus (usually 30-40 minutes in length) to the Wildlife Refuge, using private vehicles. The Wildlife Refuge is located in the National Wildlife Refuge Site in the Columbia basin. The tour
The Arctic is an exceptionally remote area. On the one hand, that’s because a lot of it dries up and becomes polluted. But it also means there’s plenty of other places to live, fish and wildlife in the area. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, there are about 25 million more acres of pristine forests in the US than there are places to live and fish here. There isn’t quite enough to be safe and sustainable for the future. It’s not that you can’t leave the same place multiple times, just be prepared. In fact, if you find yourself in a situation where you have to leave, there are a number of things you can do to help:
1. Talk to a conservationist
If you don’t have access to the land, call the U.S. Forest Service’s National Wildlife Refuge. They take information from all over the world, from native species to human settlements, and they also have a number of programs that help to find wildlife refuge sites.
2. Find a wildlife refuge
The National Wildlife Refuge Program helps the National Park Service provide land for wildlife refuge lands in the U.S. National Forest System. The NPS also has programs where federal, state, and local landowners, and the federal government work together to provide wildlife refuge sites. You can take advantage of these programs through the NPS. Take a trip to an NPS National Wildlife Refuge visit. The wildlife refuge sites can be beautiful and the wildlife is free from the stress of being shot or grazing. So to find one that will live up to expectations, you may contact the Office of the Wildlife Consultant or check out the National Wildlife Refuge’s website.
3. Take the road for wildlife
If you have access to land, you can take the interstate for wildlife or the highway for wildlife. If that’s not for you, there are a number of ways your road might be better off. It’s also possible to take public land when you have no access to wildlife. A short walk along a paved highway with a tree or brush can make or break a trip. If you want to travel with family, you will want a family car or van. The NPS is even partnering with the National Geographic Society to have a public wildlife refuge as part of its National Geographic Visitor Facility program.
4. Take the interstate for wildlife
If you feel like your road might not be for you, there are a number of ways your road might make or break a trip. Take scenic walkways and trails to wildlife viewing areas like the one in Ophir. In some parts, wildlife sites are open to the public. Try and visit a wildlife walk or wilderness area or try a public park. Take a tour bus (usually 30-40 minutes in length) to the Wildlife Refuge, using private vehicles. The Wildlife Refuge is located in the National Wildlife Refuge Site in the Columbia basin. The tour
For an example of what your heavy machinery would do to the refuge, just look sixty miles west to Prudhoe Bay, one of the largest oil fields in North America. This giant oil complex has turned one thousand square miles of tundra into an industrial zone containing miles of roads and pipelines, over one thousand wells, and three jetports. The result of this is a landscape defaced by mountains of sewage sludge, scrap metal, garbage and more than sixty contaminated waste sites that contain, and often leak; acids, lead, pesticides, solvents and diesel fuel. All of those wastes would run off into the rivers of the Coastal Plain and contaminate everything, and all the animals would die.
What are these Animals dying for? After a study by the United States Geological Survey scientists, they estimate that there is enough oil under the Arctic Refuge to supply America’s needs for only six months. Is that worth killing all these animals for only six months worth of oil? And other oil companies, just like you even admit that the oil would not be available for at least ten years. The oil under the Arctic Refuge will not lower gasoline, home heating oil, or electricity prices for consumers or reduce U.S. dependence on imported oil. We have a moral responsibility to save wild places like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for future generations, not ruin it entirely for only six months worth of oil that won’t change anything at all.
The presence of oil has significant social and environmental impacts, from accidents and routine activities such as seismic exploration, drilling, and generation of polluting wastes. Oil extraction is costly and sometimes environmentally damaging. Offshore exploration and extraction of oil disturbs the surrounding marine environment. Extraction may involve dredging, which stirs up the seabed, killing the sea plants that marine creatures need to survive.