Are we ready to sacrifice the last undisturbed wilderness in the US for the sake of supplementing 5% of our daily oil consumption? The US Senate seems to think we're ready. Even though we met worse energy shortages during the Carter administration and we conserved enough oil to nearly stop our dependence on oil from the Persian Gulf by raising, not lowering, the mileage standards for automobiles. We did it once then, and can do it better now with advancements in computer and engine technology.
The trickle of oil coming though the pipeline won't belong to the US or Alaska, it will belong to the oil companies that provide the WORLD'S oil supply, not just ours. The drilling of this Wildlife Refuge will turn into usable energy about the same time that China will become a leading consumer-based society in about ten years.
Alaska's need for jobs and money cannot come at the cost of another permanent ecological stain on it's beautiful coastline. The long-term damage is too great a cost.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/17/politics/17arctic.html?th=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1111070542-XloZ/q8ebqe9JS5hOLVy8g&oref=login
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