Drilling in ANWR... some important details

Here is an email I got recently:

FIRST. do you know what ANWR is?

ANWR = Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

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Now. A comparison



And some perspective.



NOTE WHERE THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT AREA IS.
(it's in the "ANWR Coastal Plain")



THIS IS WHAT THE DEMOCRATS, LIBERALS AND "GREENS" SHOW YOU WHEN THEY TALK ABOUT ANWR and they are right. these ARE photographs of ANWR







ISN'T ANWR BEAUTIFUL? WHY SHOULD WE DRILL HERE (AND DESTROY) THIS BEAUTIFUL PLACE?
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WELL. THAT'S NOT EXACTLY THE TRUTH


Do you remember the map?

The map showed that the proposed drilling area is in the ANWR Coastal Plain

Do those photographs look like a coastal plain to you?


WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?
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THE ANSWER IS SIMPLE.

THAT IS NOT WHERE THEY ARE WANTING TO DRILL!

THIS IS WHAT THE PROPOSED EXPLORATION AREA ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE IN THE WINTER



AND THIS IS WHAT IT ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE IN THE SUMMER







HERE ARE A COUPLE SCREEN SHOTS FROM GOOGLE EARTH





AS YOU CAN SEE, THE AREA WHERE THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT DRILLING IS A BARREN WASTELAND.

OH. AND THEY SAY THAT THEY ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THE EFFECT ON THE LOCAL WILDLIFE.

HERE IS A PHOTO (SHOT DURING THE SUMMER) OF THE "DEPLETED WILDLIFE" SITUATION CREATED BY DRILLING AROUND PRUDHOE BAY*.

DON'T YOU THINK THAT THE CARIBOU REALLY HATE THAT DRILLING?



HERE'S THAT SAME SPOT DURING THE WINTER.



HEY, THIS BEAR SEEMS TO REALLY HATE THE PIPELINE NEAR PRUDHOE BAY*.


*The Prudhoe bay area accounts for 17% of U.S. domestic oil production


NOW, WHY DO YOU THINK THAT THE DEMOCRATS ARE LYING ABOUT ANWR?

REMEMBER WHEN AL GORE SAID THAT THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD WORK TO ARTIFICIALLY RAISE GAS PRICES TO $5.00 A GALLON?

WELL.
AL GORE AND HIS FELLOW DEMOCRATS HAVE ALMOST REACHED THEIR GOAL!


NOW THAT YOU KNOW THAT THE DEMOCRATS HAVE BEEN LYING,
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?


YOU CAN START BY FORWARDING THIS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW.
SO THAT THEY WILL KNOW THE TRUTH.

[END]

Is it true? There is a page about it at Snopes.com: The Truth About ANWR, but at this time, they list the status of the accuracy of the email as being "undetermined". Presumably they are researching it.

It would be nice to have the maps and the photos verified. But I don't doubt the basic premise, because I've heard this before from other sources. The area they want to drill in is the size of a football field. It's a frozen plain in the winter, and a muddy mosquito mess in the summer.

I'm tired of hearing that "we can't drill our way out of this". The only thing stopping us from drilling is the Democrats, who have many reasons for wanting gas prices to rise.

It's true that starting drilling now won't have an immediate effect on the availability of oil; but that's all the more reason to start NOW. Doing so may also end some of the market speculation that some claim is driving prices up. Drilling isn't a short term answer, or a long term answer, but it is a medium term answer. We are going to need more oil, until we can develop alternatives. Right now we are too dependent on foreign sources, and we have the means to do something about it.

Drilling alone won't solve our energy problems, but drilling plus nuclear and other alternative energy sources, seriously applied, along with building more refineries and energy conservation too, will make an enormous difference in moving us to energy independence and ultimately away from oil. When are we going to get serious about it, and stop shooting ourselves in the foot?