They argue Advanced Artic Technology will greatly reduce the "Footprint" effect.
Fact: Oil and gas development remains an intrusive industrial process. The physical "footprint" of the existing North Slope oil facilities and roads covers about 10,000 acres, but industrial complex extends across an 800 square mile region, nearly 100 miles from east to west. As new oil fields are developed, it continues to grow. .
They argue this is America's Best Chance for a Major Oil Discovery and that Imported Oil is too Costly.
Fact: The amount of economically recoverable oil in the Artic Refuge's 1002 Area would supply the US with only 9 months worth of fuel at $24 a barrel and the process of retrieving all of this would take up to ten years. There is only a 50% chance that all of this oil would be recovered. At prices less that $16 per barrel, there is reportedly no economically retrievable oil. Thus opening up the Artic reserve would take more time and cost more to the consumer in the long run. 4/5 of the world's energy consumption relies on nonrenewable fossil fuel. At the present rate, gas supplies should last 200 years and coal will last for 3000 years. But even before the energy problem becomes critical, pollution from these fuels will severely damage our environment. If the government devoted the $55.1 billion a year it spends on importing oil from foreign ventures to finding alternative and more environmentally friendly energy sources, all our problems would be solved. Other sources include: Nuclear power, geothermal energy, solar power, wind power, and hydroelectric power.
They claim No Negative Impacts on Animals.
Fact: The 1002 Area is critically important to the ecological integrity of the whole Artic Refuge, providing essential habitats for numerous internationally important species such as the Porcupine Caribou herd and polar bears. Other species affected include: wolves, wolverines, snow geese, seabirds, and shorebirds, artic grayling and coastal fish.
