Environmental Issues

Imagine walking down an Alaskan landscape, your breath misting in front of you. It is early spring and the snow is still shining on the ground. You scale a hill, and what is in front of you startles you so much you stumble and fall. In front of you is a barren wasteland, with broken down trees and burned grass. There had been workers here lately, judging by the machinery’s warmth steaming the snow off the ground. You stand there shocked, thinking how this could have happened to the beautiful landscape around here.

                This is what the government plans to do to Alaska, just to get some oil that would be gone in six months at the most. Ruin the environment that took decades to grow, and tear it all down in a week. Their argument is that it would create jobs and money. Well, I can’t argue with that. But think, what will happen when all the oil is drained out? The jobs are gone, the money is gone, and we’re back to square one. I would love to have more jobs created, but if that means tearing down the fragile wildlife for something that they don’t know where it is, I don’t want to take that chance. If the government needs the money that bad, maybe they should take the money they do have and give it to research being done for cleaner and cheaper ways of energy.

                Though they’re putting up a good fight, the government isn’t going to win this quietly. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is fighting for the right to keep the reserve where the oil is rumored to be. The refuge is one of the only Arctic refuges left in the north. The animals that are living here could not find another home quickly because they have drilled out other places where the animals would flee to. Cutting this 1.5 million acre refuge down to find oil that won’t last long is just not worth it. Arctic species live here, like caribou, polar bears, grizzly bears, wolves and birds. All of these animals need a cool climate and a suitable environment to live comfortably. If they drill for oil, it will destroy a lot more than the 2000 acres promised by Arctic Power.

                This is also not just about the jobs and the animals, but what about the people? Yes, the people living there would have no say if they didn’t speak up. They would destroy their homeland without a second thought. This is the other big thing that stops the government from drilling for oil. All the people and tribes who have lived here for hundreds of years know that this land would become horrible in looks and smells, and they wouldn’t see many animals anymore.

                For every pro and every con, the cons outweigh the pros. Yes, it could create a million jobs, and it could make the government a lot of money, but why would you drill in beautiful Alaska to get something that is still in the Continental USA, Like Texas, Wyoming, and Utah, Alaska is targeted for oil. But why create new oil drills if there is oil in other already drilled reserves?