Our addiction to petroleum is well-known. Now other parts of the world are becoming as addicted as the West, and we are seeing spikes in prices as global demand increases. Everyone from politicians to everyday Joes has offered unrealistic fixes for our problem. Oil companies are in the business to make money. If people buy $4 dollar a gallon gas, they
will not drop the price just to be nice. This is, after all, a free market economy. Some people claim we should allow private companies to profit off public land by drilling in protected areas like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Even if the United States allowed companies to drill in ANWR it would be of scant benefit.
A 2004 U.S. Government Energy Information Administration study provided the following information: “...ANWR coastal plain oil production begins in 2013 and grows during most of the forecast. In the mean oil resource case, ANWR oil production peaks at 876,000 barrels per day in 2024. The low resource case production peaks at 639,000 barrels per day in 2024, while the high resource case production peaks at 1,595,000 barrels per day in 2023.”
Even if we started drilling now it would be nearly seven years before we saw the first drop of oil from ANWR. In 2006, it was estimated that U.S. petroleum consumption was 20,687,000 barrels per day. When peak production is reached in 15 years it will constitute less than 10 percent of what we currently use in the U.S. and less than two percent of world consumption. Oil is a finite resource. It will eventually disappear. Drilling in ANWR will only make oil companies wealthier. It will not do anything to lower your current or future gas prices.
It is time to look toward the future instead of relying on the past. We have to truly begin researching and implementing alternative ways to power our modern life. Everything from the way we get the bulk of our electricity to how we power our automobiles must begin to change. It will take decades to make a transition. If we do not start preparing now, our children and grandchildren will pay for it in the future.
Evan Sellers
Florence
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