The United States is dependent on foreign oil. Recently, it has become very apparent due to the rise in price for a barrel of oil(mainly imported), which has subsequently caused a rise in gas prices. There are several ways to decrease our dependence on foreign oil and the cost that we pay for it, the simplest being to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.
Recently, tensions have been high between the US and the oil producing companies in the middle east. The US imports a huge percentage of its oil, and there are not very many ways we can reduce that dependence. A great way that the US can begin its independence is to drill its sources of oil, specifically the oil buried under the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Although it would take approximately 10 years to actually begin flowing oil out from there, once we do it will provide several million gallons of oil per day.
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Map: 1002 Area, th...
English: Area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refu...
English: Photograph of oil-stained sandstone near ...With the current level of importing oil closing in on 20 million barrels a day, this won't solve all our troubles, but it would be a good start.
Conservationists fear drilling in ANWR primarily because it is the calving ground for several thousand caribou. Every year they return to the same area to birth and raise their young, but this area is not the lush prairie or enchanted forest like some might think. People who have been there (and pictures of the location) will tell you that it is in fact a wasteland, with little growth and minimal benefits to the ecosystem. Its only redeeming qualities worth mentioning are the calving grounds used by the caribou and the oil fields underneath it.
Opponents of drilling ANWR believe that when the equipment is shipped out to the location and the...