To Drill or Not to Drill

To drill or not to drill

By

Corey B. Smith

April 10, 2011

Axia College of University of Phoenix

There is a deception going on in America concerning the drilling of oil. Is it feasible to drill in Alaska, National Parks, and wildlife preserves compared to finding alternative clean energy sources? Some of America’s most spectacular wildlife preserves and some of its prettiest places on earth will be destroyed all in pursuit of oil. Can you imagine taking your family on vacation to a state park or visiting Alaska to view its beautiful landscape and its wildlife, only to see and smell a dirty and ugly environment destroying oil field? I agree with President Barack Obama and the environmentalist that there should be no drilling in our national parks and our protected wildernesses. Although, no one is sure how much oil can be found off the coast of Alaska, “it is estimated that there may be approximately 460 million barrels of oil in the Beaufort Sea” (Ardsley, 2011, p.1). Due to the barren landscape and the freezing temperatures it would take months if not years to get the oil out of the region and into the cars and trucks of everyday working Americans (p.1). According to Ken Leonard (2011), a senior manager at the American Petroleum Institute, “there is between 3.25 and 16 billion barrels of oil in the ANWR (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge) this combined, equals about 17 billion barrels of oil” (Ardsley, 2011, p. 1). Unfortunately, the United States uses 7 billion barrels of oil a year or 19 million barrels a day; it would take only 24 days to use every drop of oil in the proposed areas (p.1). As you may see the solution to drilling in various areas of the United States, instead of utilizing alternative energy sources can be disastrous. My opponents may disagree with me, suggesting that “newer technologies in Alaska’s north slope oil fields include directional drilling that allows for multiple well heads on smaller drill...