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ANWR Oil A New Egg in a Strong Basket Economic and Political Insights on American Energy after the Katrina Disaster In the wake of the hurricane disaster in New Orleans, the frailty of Americas energy supply has become all too apparent. For the next number of years, the Gulf of Mexico will remain in the line of fire for more predicted hurricanes. Yet it supplies 28% of Americas oil production. Any damage to the flow of crude oil there has a dramatic effect on the nations fuel supply. It is a valuable egg in a fragile basket. If there is one message that the government and American people need to heed from this situation, it is that diversifying ones supply of oil is the best way to prevent price spikes and fuel shortages and other national energy worries. We need a new egg in a stronger basket. The Gulf of Mexico cant do it alone. That diversification is at hand and is now before Congress: open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas exploration. ANWR has the potential to be Americas largest oil field and is in an area not susceptible to natural disasters. In nearly 30 years of production in Prudhoe Bay, just 50 miles west of the Coastal Plain of ANWR, there have been no natural disasters or delays in supply caused by nature. Alaskan oil is also produced under the strictest environmental regulations on the planet, and oil from ANWR will be produced on solid ground, not in an ocean on vulnerable drilling platforms. Oil from ANWRs coastal plain would take approximately 8 years to bring on line and by that time could tally Alaskan oil to equal one third of US domestic production, surpassing output in the Gulf. Simply put, ANWR oil will help diversify America away from reliance on drilling in the hurricane hazardous Gulf of Mexico. It is the responsibility of Congress to lead America to a more stable energy production platform. This platform must be one that encompasses maximizing domestic production from as many sources as possible. Recent events demonstrate the risk of not doing so. That risk is particularly unacceptable, because in ANWR we have a sensible and realistic solution. America is in dire need of greater domestic oil and gas production as year by year we increase our reliance on foreign oil. We currently import between 58-64% of our oil, depending on the time of year. As our economy grows this figure increases and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. No new energy source that we know of today will lessen this statistic for the next 20 years. Ironically, alternative green technologies such as solar, wind, biofuels and hydrogen fuel cells not only have a bigger production footprint on the environment than oil, they also rely on oil for their construction, component parts, and maintenance. Alternative energies are simply not an immediate realistic solution to our huge demand for energy. Todays oil importation policy was born in an earlier energy crisis, the 1973 OPEC oil embargo. At the time, America was plunged into long lines at the pump, price spikes and tremendous energy worry. OPEC had virtual control. Indeed, similar to now, too many eggs were in too few baskets. We continue to rely on oil from abroad for a majority of our energy supply. Particularly from areas of the world that are unstable and hostile. If we have learned anything from current events we must lessen our dependence on foreign oil and diversify our domestic supply. American crude oil production has been reduced by 25% due to Katrina and our refining capacity reduced by 10%. This leaves America begging for oil. The issue is best described by Ben Lieberman of the Heritage Foundation; Hurricane Katrina struck us at the worst place and time and revealed the vulnerability of the nations energy infrastructure. It should underscore the need to strengthen the resiliency of a system that is barely adequate even under the best of circumstances. This national vulnerability is not just a vulnerability to disasters either. The world appetite for oil is also growing. As noted in the Financial Times September 6, 2005, on present trends, global oil supply needs to rise each year by at least two million barrels a day(to meet demand). ANWR alone could contribute 1 million of those barrels. Those barrels are safe, secure and hurricane proof. We must remember in 1995 Congress approved exploration of the Coastal Plain of ANWR. Had it not been vetoed by then President Clinton, we would currently be producing a million or more additional barrels a day (20% of Americas domestic production). This would have certainly reduced the impact of Katrina, lessened gas price spikes, and decreased our drastic sudden demand for oil imports. If we tend to forget the effects and solutions (supply diversification) to the 1973 oil embargo, Hurricane Katrina has certainly pushed them back on the table. ANWR oil means diversity of supply. ANWR oil means a safer more secure supply of oil. ANWR oil is indeed a new egg in a stronger basket. In the past several days many very informative articles have been written on the effects of Katrina on the energy situation in America. Below are links to several articles that do an excellent job of portraying the issue. Ben Lieberman: The Post-Katrina Jump at the Pump Unavoidable?, The Heritage Foundation, September 6, 2005 Jon Basil Utley: Alaskan Oil A Key to Keeping Our Freedoms, Antiwar.com, September 6, 2005, Storm Warning: Daily Policy Digest Energy Issues, Sept 8, 2005. National Center for Policy Analysis Martin Wolf: How Oil Adds to the Economys Fragility, The Financial Times September 6, 2005, (pay service) :: Posted on September 10, 2005 :: :: Other Resources... Structured Settlements - cash for structured settlements, sell annuity, lottery winnings, and more. View our ANWR Flash Movie! Search Web anwr.org Ten reasons to support responsible oil development in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge View our ANWR Powerpoint Presentation ANWR Quicklinks Media Kit Remember:More people have died in Ted Kennedy's car than have died in United States Commercial Nuclear Power plant operations visit my web site at http://www.info-quest.org Visit my energy page at http://www.info-quest.org/Energy.html Check out the latest on the anwr drilling project http://www.anwr.org visit my blog at http://info-spectrum.blogspot.com My ICQ# is 79071904 See the Pledge of alleginace to the flag that the 9th circuit court of appeals doesn't want you to say. for a precise list of the powers of the Federal Government linkto: http://www.info-quest.org/Enumerated.html www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substanceânot soap-boxingâplease! 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