A Reasonable Case Against Drilling in ANWR

Reasonable people react reasonably when given credible reasons. Unfortunately, when dealing with ANWR and offshore drilling, the only part of that statement that hold true is the first. Yes, the vast majority of the public is reasonable. Many are misinformed on the facts, so you cant blame them for reacting in a way that seems stubborn and/or wrong.

When it comes to any issue such as health care, social security, foreign relations, etc., the politician is just a pawn. Politicians don’t make decisions on issues anymore. Their job is to get as many of their constituents to support him or her. The actual idea comes from the lobbyists. Lobbyists get a politician to agree with them by showing a pol how a side to a particular issue will garner more votes. Once the lobbyist does that, then the game has been won, almost. The oil industry lobbyists are no different. They want to sell you on the "facts" minus the facts that hurt their cause.

There is a plethora of “facts” at arms reach to the average American citizen. But, the average citizen doesn’t have time to sit down and research which “facts” are real facts and which ones have been molested and spun to fit an agenda. 

Here are the facts:

• 25 years ago, 60% of oil used domestically was produced domestically, now it is a little higher than 25%. Our economy cannot survive on this trajectory simply because we don’t have control of the one thing that feeds our economy. If we cannot control our economy, we lose our country.
• If ANWR is tapped, it will take approximately 15 years for the oil well to reach its peak production. The price of oil will only progressively drop so to compensate for the increased supply. Our risk/return on this issue is not within our favor. 
• Because of oil prices today and global warming concerns, our oil driven economy has already begun to shift toward alternative fuels. 15 years from now, there will not be as much of a demand for oil.
• America’s economic stability is our physical stability. If not for industry, America would collapse.
• The price of a barrel of oil rests heavily on political concerns within the Middle East. Our military would not be there today if we did not have an economic reason to be there. Terrorists did not attack us because they hate freedom, they attacked us because we have troops on their soil and we support Israel. The longer we stay in the middle east, the more political upheaval within the Middle East will force oil prices higher which makes us even more concerned about the region. It’s a catch-22.
• There is not enough oil underneath the United States to allow us to even be close to energy Independent. 

The issue of whether or not we open up drilling in ANWR and offshore isn’t about the price of oil; it is about our survival as a country. By opening up these areas, we allow our economy to continue to be driven by a commodity that cannot domestically sustain us. So why not face the facts and allow our economy the push it needs to becomes dependant on renewable, domestic energy. It will allow us to have control over our industry, and it will cut off our reasons for our presence in the Middle East, thereby saving the lives of future generations of our soldiers. And we will again have full control over our liberty and freedom.