US Senate approves Oil Exploration in Natural Reserve

international | environment | news report Wednesday March 23, 2005 19:03 by Paul Baynes

US Senate to allow drilling for oil and gas in Alaska nature reserve

Last Wednesday, the US Senate decided to allow oil and gas development in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR). This decision will significantly damage this valuable natural reserve, and is entirely incompatible with a desire to preserve pristine areas of wilderness such as this. This so-called 'development' will interfere with wildlife including calving caribou, millions of migratory birds, polar bears and musk oxen.

The vote was passed by a margin of 51-49, and was carried while also preventing a Democratic filibuster. The Senate are estimating that they will receive 10.4 billion barrels of oil from this exploration. According to the US Geological Survey, there are between 5.6 and 16 billion barrels available in the area. This oil would not become available until 2007 at the earliest, and would only serve a small fraction of the oil consumption of the US, which is running at over 20,000,000 barrels a DAY. The most recent data available is from November 2004, showing US oil consumption at 20,782 thousand barrels per day. The price of oil is having serious impact on global markets, hence the US administration being so keen to add to their oil reserves at any price.

It is all very well for us to sit back and say how terrible this is, and how it's another disgraceful decision by the US administration. Clearly, the key to the current oil crisis is to reduce reliance on oil in favour of practices which are more sustainable. But this will involve a significant change in lifestyle. It will require a significant change in mentality. Are we prepared for this?

The US is certainly a world leader in its disregard for sustainable development etc. Of course the main damage comes from governments and from big corporations. But to affect social change in a meaningful way, we will all need to change our mentalities. Are we aware of how much we rely on oil in our own lives? I just want to give people a little nudge to be aware of their own part in things (myself included).

SOURCES:

The Irish Times
www.ANWR.org
www.cnn.com
www.eia.doe.gov
www.newsmax.com