Issue Position: Energy & Environment - Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)

Issue Position

Located east of Prudhoe Bay, ANWR stretches from the mountains of the Brooks Range to the flat coastal plain. The area within the refuge targeted by the Bush Administration for drilling is a birthing ground for caribou, a sanctuary for hundreds of species of birds and waterfowl, and home to 260 Inupiat natives.

I strongly oppose opening up ANWR to drilling. I believe that drilling in ANWR will threaten some of our nation's most pristine wilderness and will not reduce America's reliance on foreign oil producers. President Bush and some Members of Congress, who support more domestic energy production, have argued that opening up ANWR for oil and gas drilling is necessary to reduce America's reliance on foreign oil. However, the U.S. Geological Survey predicts that the ANWR contains approximately 3.3 billion barrels of oil, which is only six months' worth of fuel using current U.S. fuel consumption rates. And most of this oil will not be delivered to consumers for 10 years.

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