Oil drilling in Alaska
On January 3 in the year 1959, Alaska officially became the forty-ninth state of the United States of America. Alaska is over twice the size of Texas; measuring from north to south at approximately 1,400 miles long and from east to west it is 2,700 miles wide making it the largest state in America. Despite this abundance of land, Alaska has the lowest population density in all of the United States. This minute population is due to the countries abundance of wildlife, vast amount of natives and their unindustrialized villages, and the varying amount of harsh and unbearable areas of land. The stability of the Alaskan economy relies on their agriculture production (seafood, dairy products, livestock), but more importantly their production of petroleum and natural gasses. Alaska's production of oil and natural gasses accounts for approximately twenty-five percent of the oil produced within the United States. Within Alaska, Prudhoe Bay, which is on the northern coast, is North America's largest oil field. Prudhoe Bay is situated directly on the coasts of the North Slope and the Artic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). This vast amount of land within the Northern Slopes and the ANWR has become a controversial topic within Alaska and the U
These porcupines are essential parts of their society, "It is not just what we eat, [it] is who we are. This argument is very popular at the moment due to America's uncertain and unreliable current affairs with some countries in the Middle East. These natives use all of the parts of the caribous for food, medicine, and clothes. If industrialization were to occur, it is evident that the Gwich'in people and their way of life would be sacrificed in order for America to produce a minimal amount of oil compared to how much the country consumes every year. Not only through the extinction of the porcupine caribou would the Gwich'in Indians be affected, but also through the industrialization of the areas around where the oil would be drilled. Additionally, DOE predicted larger producer revenues at the wellhead would result in 100,000 bd more output from Alaska and California than would be the case with continued export restriction" (Kumins). Also during this time, oil ban repeal supporters pushed pro drilling legislation through the Senate Energy Committee for the first time. Faith Gemmill, a Gwich'in Indian and a representative of her people, argues against the claims of the Inupiat Indians, ". They said 'there goes the fish and wildlife,'. In the Gwich'in Indian's culture, their way of life and survival depends upon one animal, the porcupine caribou. Finally, several bills have been introduced during 2000, which would ban the export of crude oil produced within the Northern Slopes of Alaska, while pro drilling legislation is also being pushed into congress in hope of expanding the area they can drill, and the amount that can be produced. One positive effect that would occur from the development of Alaska's oil and gas resources, is the number of groups and individuals that would benefit from the oil drilling in the North Slope, especially through the creation of jobs within the Alaskan economy and the American economy as a whole.
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Acceptance Essays
