Save Alaska's Wilderness

Author's Note: There are a lot of people who are asking if we should drill for oil in Alaska's wilderness. I will be talking about what my opinion is on whether or not they should drill for oil in Alaska's wilderness.

Many people are wondering, should we drill for oil in Alaska? There are many factors to take into consideration like, environment, money and you also have to think about the people that live in Alaska. You need to think about how this will affect them and their home. There should be no drilling for oil in Alaska, because of environmental issues, economic issues and lastly how it will have an impact on the people who live in Alaska.

One of the reasons that I think that drilling in Alaska is a bad idea is because of the economy. According to http://www.buzzle.com/articles/pros-and-cons-of-oil-drilling.html we already use thirty billion barrels of oil per year and oil keeps getting harder and harder to find. If we keep using the amount of oil we are using we won’t have any oil left. The solution to this is that we should cut back on oil so we don’t have to rely on foreign oils, and so we don’t use all of the oil that’s left in the United States. We are using way too much oil in the United States.

Not only is the economy a big reason that we shouldn’t drill for oil in Alaska, the oil would also have a big impact on the environment. Oil is very messy and can destroy the entire Alaskan wilderness especially if there is an oil spill. According to, http://www.scienceinthenews.org.uk/contents/?article=59, if an oil spill occurs, it can take months to years to clean up all the oil and thousands of animals will still be killed in the process. The oil can be very harsh on plant life also; once the plants are damaged it can take decades to recover from the oil says, http://www.unc.edu/~money/geography/anwr2.html. Not only that but Alaskan wilderness is a sanctuary and birthing ground to many animals. If oil spills, those animals will be either killed or forced to leave and find a new sanctuary and birthing ground. That’s why drilling for oil in the Alaskan wilderness will have a big impact on the environment.

While economy and environment are reasons that drilling for oil in Alaska shouldn’t be done there is also the people in Alaska to think about. Like how their lives and homes will be affected because of the drilling for oil. The oil industry promised to preserve the Alaskan environment but what if they break their promise and make a huge mess, then the Alaskan wilderness will be ruined and the Inupait people, who are native to Alaska, will have no wilderness for hunting or making money. Also the Inupiat people say they want their environment to be clean, but if there is one mistake on the oil industries part, their precious wilderness is gone and will take years to get back. People in Alaska need to be considered before they even think about drilling in Alaska’s wilderness.

As you can see, the oil companies shouldn't be allowed to drill in Alaska’s wilderness because of the environment, the economy and the people in Alaska. The United States needs to cut back on oil because the oil that they would get from Alaska would only last approximately six months. So, remember try to conserve oil because we are using too much oil and we can’t rely on foreign oils forever.