I fucking know I'm not the only one! I'm talking for all of us! Have you seen the cars in Europe? Have you seen the
DOLLAR in Europe?
Top ten reasons to support ANWR development
1. Only 8% of ANWR Would Be Considered for Exploration Only the 1.5 million acre or 8% on the northern coast of ANWR is being considered for development. The remaining 17.5 million acres or 92% of ANWR will remain permanently closed to any kind of development. If oil is discovered, less than 2000 acres of the over 1.5 million acres of the Coastal Plain would be affected. That&supl;s less than half of one percent of ANWR that would be affected by production activity.
2. Revenues to the State and Federal Treasury Federal revenues would be enhanced by billions of dollars from bonus bids, lease rentals, royalties and taxes. Estimates on bonus bids for ANWR by the Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Interior for the first 5 years after Congressional approval are $4.2 billion. Royalty and tax estimates for the life of the 10-02 fields were estimated by the Office of Management and Budget from $152-237 billion.
3. Jobs To Be Created Between 250,000 and 735,000 ANWR jobs are estimated to be created by development of the Coastal Plain.
4. Economic Impact Between 1977 and 2004, North Slope oil field development and production activity contributed over $50 billion to the nations economy, directly impacting each state in the union.
5. America's Best Chance for a Major Discovery The Coastal Plain of ANWR is America's best possibility for the discovery of another giant "Prudhoe Bay-sized" oil and gas discovery in North America. U.S. Department of Interior estimates range from 9 to 16 billion barrels of recoverable oil.
6. North Slope Production in Decline The North Slope oil fields currently provide the U.S. with nearly 16% of it's domestic production and since 1988 this production has been on the decline. Peak production was reached in 1980 of two million barrels a day, but has been declining to a current level of 731,000 barrels a day.
7. Imported Oil Too Costly In 2007, the US imported an average of 60% of its oil and during certain months up to 64%. That equates to over $330 billion in oil imports. That’s $37.75 million per hour gone out of our economy! Factor in the cost to defend our imported oil, and the costs in jobs and industry sent abroad, the total would be nearly a trillion dollars.
8. No Negative Impact on Animals Oil and gas development and wildlife are successfully coexisting in Alaska 's arctic. For example, the Central Arctic Caribou Herd (CACH) which migrates through Prudhoe Bay has grown from 3000 animals to its current level of 32,000 animals. The arctic oil fields have very healthy brown bear, fox and bird populations equal to their surrounding areas.
9. Arctic Technology Advanced technology has greatly reduced the 'footprint" of arctic oil development. If Prudhoe Bay were built today, the footprint would be 1,526 acres, 64% smaller.
10. Alaskans Support More than 75% of Alaskans favor exploration and production in ANWR. The democratically elected Alaska State Legislatures, congressional delegations, and Governors elected over the past 25 years have unanimously supported opening the Coastal Plain of ANWR. The Inupiat Eskimos who live in and near ANWR support onshore oil development on the Coastal Plain.
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: the issue
Most geologists agree that the potential of recoverable oil on the Coastal Plain is in the order of billions of barrels and trillions of cubic feet of recoverable gas and that these resources may rival the initial reserves at Prudhoe Bay. The validity of these estimates can only be proved by drilling exploratory wells. Before oil and gas development in the Coastal Plain can proceed, Congress and the President need to authorize leasing and development.
Less than 100 miles west of ANWR lies Prudhoe Bay, North America's largest oil field, located along similar geologic trends. Prudhoe, together with Kuparuk, Lisburne and Endicott, accounts for about 25 percent of U.S. domestic oil production. Millions of dollars of research on wildlife resources and their habitat on Alaska's North Slope have not only immeasurably increased the scientific understanding of arctic ecosystems but have also shown that wildlife and petroleum development and production can coexist.
Each-year thousands of waterfowl and other birds nest and reproduce the Prudhoe Bay and Kuparuk fields and a healthy and increasing caribou herd migrates through these areas to calve and seek respite from annoying pests. Oil field facilities have been located and designed to accommodate wildlife and utilize the least amount of tundra surface.
Experience gained at Prudhoe Bay and Kuparuk along with rapidly evolving drilling and production techniques will further minimize environmental impacts and surface use in future frontier arctic petroleum provinces such as ANWR. Further, there have evolved since the late 1960's, a sophisticated regulatory framework and permitting process at the federal, state, and local (North Slope Borough) level. These require measured, thoroughly researched and planned development activities focused on environmental protection.
The consensus of the geologic community is that the Coastal Plain of ANWR represents the highest petroleum potential onshore area yet to be explored in North America. This potential is believed to be on the order of billions of barrels of recoverable oil and may rival that of the Prudhoe Bayfield. Should leasing be permitted and subsequent commercial discoveries be made, it will be an estimated 15 years or more before oil and gas production from ANWR reaches market. That production will then be urgently required by the United States. Despite the current oil glut and decline in oil prices, the U.S. oil supply picture by the late 1990s could be bleak. Domestic crude oil production, which has already declined from nearly 9 million barrels per day in 1985 to about 6.6 million barrels per day in early 1995, is projected to decline to less than 5 million barrels per day in 2010. Even with only a modest growth in U.S. crude oil demand, the deficit in U.S. supplies will be on the order of 10 million barrels per day, which will have to be made up by new discoveries or imports. ANWR's contribution will therefore be critical to national energy needs
The issue of oil and gas leasing in the 8 percent of ANWR represented by the Coastal Plain should not be considered, therefore, as an "either/or" decision with respect to preservation of important fish and wildlife resources. The record of other petroleum development on the North Slope supports application of multiple use management concepts in ANWR. Nevertheless, in issuing its decision with regard to future management of the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Congress will be faced with the challenge of reconciling diverse goals, national needs for additional domestic energy supplies, the national need and interest in preservation of wilderness or nearly wild lands, and the promise (in ANCSA and ANILCA) to Alaska Natives regarding continued availability of subsistence fish and wildlife resources. These goals are not, however, mutually exclusive. Given the oil and gas exploration and production technology existing today, the ANWR Coastal Plain can be opened to leasing that is consistent with all of these important requirements.
Today's drilling leaves a small footprint
New oil development technology, developed over 30 years on Alaska's North Slope, will allow companies to tap underground producing reservoirs with a much smaller "footprint" on the surface.
When Prudhoe Bay was developed in the 1970's, about 2 % of the surface area over the field, or 5,000 acres, was covered by gravel for roads and drilling and production facility sites. If Prudhoe Bay were developed today, using lessons learned since the 1960's, gravel would cover less than 2,000 acres, a 60 % reduction.
Extended-reach Drilling
Advances in directional, or extended-reach, drilling now allow producing companies to reach a reservoir three miles from the surface location. Soon "extended reach" wells out to four miles will be possible on the North Slope. When Prudhoe Bay was first developed, wells could reach out only one and a half miles.
Well Spacing
In the 1970's, production wells on drill pads in Prudhoe Bay were spaced 100 feet or more apart. New directional drilling techniques and drill equipment allow wells to be spaced 25 to 15 feet apart, and in some cases 10 feet apart. A drill pad that would have been 65 acres in 1977 can be less than nine acres today. The same number of wells that required a 65-acre pad in the 1970's can be drilled on less than a nine-acre pad today.
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Drilling Mud Disposal
New technology allows producing companies to do away with reserve pits for drilling fluid ("mud") and cuttings. Mud and cuttings are now injected the below-ground through disposal wells.
Ice Roads and Drilling Pads
Instead of building a gravel pad for exploration drilling, companies are now building temporary pads of ice, which disappear after the exploration well has been drilled. Temporary ice roads have long been used to support winter exploration drilling on the North Slope.
Caribou in the Region
Over four decades of development on the North Slope have shown that caribou can co-exist with development. The Central Arctic Herd, which calves in the Prudhoe Bay and Kuparuk oil fields, has increased from 3,000 animals to more than 23,400 animals. Facilities in the Coastal Plain area would be designed to protect this important species and their habitat.
Caribou are the most numerous large mammals in the Coastal Plain. Two herds migrate through the area at different times of the year. The Porcupine Caribou Herd (named after the Porcupine River) and the Central Arctic Herd. The Porcupine Herd, which numbers approximately 123,000 animals, generally spends time during the summer months on the Coastal Plain, and the smaller Central Arctic Herd, approximately 32,000 animals, stay to the west of the Coastal Plain. The following discussion focuses on the Porcupine Herd, but basic features of the ecology and annual cycle of events are similar for both groups.
Spring Migration
The spring migration begins in early March as caribou gradually drift toward the northern limits of their wintering areas. The Porcupine Herd follows three major routes to the North Slope from primary wintering areas in Alaska and the Yukon Territory; the Richardson route, the Old Crow route, and the Arctic Village/South Brooks Range route.
The caribou segregate themselves into groups which migrate at different times. Pregnant females along with some yearlings and barren cows are the first to migrate, followed by bulls and the remaining juveniles. In mid-to-late May the pregnant females arrive on the North Slope, while the others follow a few weeks later.
Calving
Calving takes place during the last week in May and the first two weeks of June in the foothills and coastal region stretching from the Hulahula River in ANWR and the Babbage River located in Canada. The area is generally snow free by early June. Caribou are not distributed evenly across the area; instead, they gather in more, limited locations which vary from year to year.
By mid-to-late July, most Porcupine Caribou have moved off the Coastal Plain and into the foothills and mountains. Although some of the Porcupine Caribou occasionally remain on the North Slope for the winter, the Porcupine Caribou usually travel south and east to Canada. When they do stay on the North Slope, the Porcupine Caribou usually move westward from the Coastal Plain area and mingle with caribou from the Central Arctic Herd.
Post-calving Aggregation
As the mosquitoes emerge in late June and early July, the caribou gather into enormous post-calving aggregations, sometimes numbering in the tens of thousands. For example, in 1987, over 93,000 caribou assembled in one group south of Camden Bay. The caribou seek areas where breezes and cooler temperatures reduce the harassment by mosquitoes, and when there is no wind, the caribou move continually. Cold winds offer relief from the mosquitoes and permit the caribou to rest and feed freely.
Insects
The tundra provides a perfect environment for mosquitoes and other insects who emerge in late June and July continually harass the caribou. By mid-to-late July, most Porcupine Caribou have moved off the Coastal Plain and dispersed in the foothills, only to be plagued by two other insect pests; the warble fly and the nose bot fly. The warble fly, which looks like a small yellow and black bumblebee, lays its eggs in the fur and the legs or abdomen of the caribou. The larvae soon hatch, burrow under the skin, and travel to the back. here they encapsulate and cut a breathing hole in the skin. Caribou commonly carry over one hundred larvae. It is not until May and June of the following year that the larvae cut exit holes, crawl out and drop to the ground to develop into mature flies.
The nose bot bears live larvae, which it deposits in the nostrils of the caribou. The bot larvae move through the nasal passages and settle down at the entrance to the throat. By spring the larvae have grown so much that they may form a mass large enough to actually interfere with breathing. The reaction of the caribou to these flies if different from the reaction to mosquitoes. The warble and nose-bot flies are strong fliers and the caribou cannot avoid them simply by seeking breezy places or moving into the wind. Instead the caribou stand, heads held low, alert for the approach of the flies. During July and early August, caribou can be seen violently shaking their heads, stamping their feet, and racing wildly over the tundra, for no apparent reason; they are seeking to evade warble or bot flies. the fly season is followed by month's respite where the caribou can feed unmolested.
Fall Migration
The fall migration may begin any time from late August to mid-October as the caribou start to move generally southward. This migration will carry the caribou one hundred to three hundred miles south into the area south of the Brooks and into the southern Richardson and Ogilvie mountains in the Yukon Territory. The caribou continue to live on fat as they move south; the males will need energy reserves for the rut and all will need it during the winter. At this time, the bulls are shedding the velvet from their antlers and rubbing them against trees and shrubs.
Central Arctic Herd
The other caribou in ANWR, the Central Arctic Herd, follow the same basic annual pattern as the Porcupine Herd, except that migrations are much shorter. Caribou from the Central Arctic Herd move between the arctic coast and the Brooks Range mountains, with most animals remaining north of the continental divide all year. Central Arctic Caribou use the northwestern part of the Coastal Plain during summer, and in most years several hundred to a thousand spend the winter near the Sadlerochit Mountains of ANWR.
Caribou Populations
Both the Porcupine and 'Central Arctic Herds are biologically healthy. After a long period of stability at around 100,000 animals, the Porcupine Herd began to grow steadily during the late 1970s and 1980s and reached 180,000 animals by 1989. The herd then decreased during a series of severe winters and was down to 160,000 in 1992. In 2002, the Porcupine Herd numbered 123,000, but the caribou were in excellent physiological condition.
The Central Arctic Herd also increased during the 1970s and 1980s from 6,000 in 1978 to 23,400 in 1982. Rapid growth stopped in the late 1980s, however, and the herd now appears stable at around 32,000 animals. Relatively low calf production and survival in recent years may result from severe winter weather which has also depleted moose and Dall sheep populations in the central arctic area. It is also possible that the Central Arctic Herd is approaching range carrying capacity.
Subsistence Uses
The caribou in the two herds which utilized portions of ANWR during their migration are an important subsistence food source for Inupiat Eskimos and Athabascan Indians who live in communities near the migratory routes of the caribou herds.
