This article talks about the Arctic wildlife refuge and the political debate on whether to drill into the area to access oil reserves as well as conduct seismic research. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge consists of about 19 million acres of pristine land in northeastern Alaska. The area serves as a nesting place for several hundred species of migratory birds, wolves, polar bears, caribou and other mammals. In 1984 and 1985, several oil companies undertook seismic studies, in which special trucks “thumped” the ground and recorded the reflected sound waves which was then able to provide details about rock formations and potential oil and gas reserves in them. Years later a 1998 assessment by the United States Geological Survey that relied in part in the seismic studies estimated that the area contained 4 billion to 12 billion barrels of recoverable oil. There is political debate in Congress on whether to send more equipment up there to drill and recover the trapped oil underneath the preserve and continue more seismic research. However the main problem remains that drilling and even studying the ground below damages the land according to Environmental groups and would affect the significant amount of wildlife that live near the area.

Whether or not the bill is passed to allow further drilling and research in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a big deal. If the bill is passes companies would conduct new seismic studies in the area using technology that produces three dimensional images of underground formations. Eventually production wells would be drilled and the oil would be drilled out. However the environmental impact cannot be ignored. Drilled and altering the landscape could disturb caribou and lead them to abandon their usual calving sites for less suitable locations outside the area. The other wildlife normal survival routines would probably be affected as well especially if companies plan to continue to drill the oil for years to come. The area is still a recognized wildlife preserve which technically should not be an area for companies to drill for oil due to damaging effects it may have on all the surrounding animals. If the bill is passed oil companies may have new access to untapped oil reserves but are the environmental consequences worth the cost.

Citation:

Fountain, Henry. “Drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge: How the G.O.P. Could Finally Break the Impasse.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 13 Oct. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/10/13/climate/arctic-drilling.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fclimate&action=click&contentCollection=climate®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront.