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| Jim Spence |
If you are tired of paying twice as much as you did a few years ago to fill your gas tank, consider these facts. Alaska is nearly four times the size of California. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) covers 19.6 million acres, an area the size of South Carolina. There is a tiny section on northern coastal plain of ANWR that is a small percentage of the total refuge area. What sort of place is this small patch of land? During the winter there is no sunlight for 56 straight days. While the area is submerged in complete darkness it endures 70-below-zero temperatures. When the sun finally reappears it is barely noticeable for months.
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| Frozen ANWR Coastal Plain |
Eventually this water puddle dotted area thaws during very short summers. Millions of these puddles provide breeding grounds for trillions of very large mosquitoes. Summer occupants in the area are forced to wear the same masks of tropical mosquito netting that were used by the crews that dug the Panama Canal. If you dare to go outside unprotected in the summer, you are likely to inhale mosquitoes through your nose or mouth.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey and energy experts, there is enough oil in this small coastal area to replace all of the oil the U.S. imports from Saudi Arabia. Only 2,000 acres of the 19.6 million acres of ANWR is needed for production.
Sadly, the news media will never inform people that ANWR's beautiful mountains are actually far away from the barren area where oil would be produced. The untold truth is pretty simple. This tiny track of ground is one of the most forbidding places in North America. It is hard to imagine another place where oil production would have less of an effect on the “environment.”
The uninformed will sometimes opine about the dangers to the caribou in the area. However, in nearby Prudhoe Bay, where oil production facilities have been for decades, the Central Arctic caribou herd has multiplied in size many times over since the facilities were built. Advanced production techniques make it possible to drill in virtually any direction for miles. Directional drilling now leaves land tracts virtually undisturbed. Naturally, environmentalists despise the realities of new oil production technologies. Directional drilling destroys the arguments used to deny energy production permits.
Consider the Inupiat Eskimos who live in the coastal area. They understand the wonders of modern drilling technologies. Accordingly, they overwhelmingly support oil production on their lands. Radical environmentalists never mention the Inupiat. Instead they favor the Gwich'in. The Gwich'in nation capitol is hundreds of miles away from the coastal plain area in question. Gwich'in tribal members are environmentalist favorites because they agree to appear in full native costume at congressional hearings in Washington D.C. According to the Gwich'in, producing energy underneath this patch of Inupiat coastal plain, even using modern horizontal drilling techniques, is unacceptable.
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| ANWR Coastal Plain Thawed |
The most amusing fact about the Gwich'in is they once invited oil exploration companies to look for oil on their lands. Sadly, there is no oil where they live. The good news is Gwichin have found a lucrative new industry. They play the role of noble native in exchange for appearance fees paid by radical environmentalists.
Protecting this tiny patch of ground near the Arctic Circle from U.S. oil production is like protecting a starving person from food. Essentially this track of ANWR has become the false god of radical environmentalists and their friends in Washington who oppose the production of oil anywhere. Unfortunately, the ANWR hoax is kept alive by people who donate millions to shameless politicians. This hoax is costing Americans hundreds of billions if not trillion of dollars and countless jobs. Only a majority of rational votes will stop this scam.
The ANWR Hoax
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