There is an ongoing dispute among Congress, the oil industry, environmentalists, and indigenous peoples about whether the oil reserves of northeastern Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) should be exploited. What are the arguments for and against developing this region?

Answer 1

On the one side are the oil interests, Alaskan politicians, and almost all Republicans in Congress, who have argued that the United States must develop these reserves to give the country more independence from Middle Eastern and other imported oil. On the other side is a coalition of environmentalists, many Native Americans, and congressional Democrats who argue that oil production in ANWR will do irreparable damage to the coastal plain's unique environment and the indigenous people who depend on it.
The main Native American group,the Gwich'in, insists that oil drilling and related activity in ANWR will disrupt caribou calving, decimate the herd, and thus endanger the Gwich'in way of life. The indigenous perspective on ANWR is not united, however; an Inuit group called the Inupiat supports oil production there, especially because of the jobs it would bring them.
Environmentalists argue that habitats and native cultures would be despoiled to provide just six months of US oil needs, whereas the oil industry says that 20 years of critical US supply is in ANWR. The amount of oil in ANWR is uncertain.