Question: What is all the fuss about drilling for oil in ANWR?

This is a topic that has confused me for years, what is wrong with drilling for oil in ANWR? I hear the tree huggers crying about some wilderness critters that might be bothered by it, but from the looks of this picture (top), of an exploration rig, that is there now, or was in the past, it doesn’t much look like anything lives there! So, what is all the fuss about? (The image links to ANWR.org)

Maybe it is the images of West Texas, where the pumps, not the derricks, cover the landscape like iron cattle? Sorry, couldn’t find a photo of that, but I have seen it! That could be a scary thing, but, in a place like ANWR, it wouldn’t be like that, why, you ask? Simple, those places in West Texas, were at one time, multiple parcels of land, owned by a lot of individuals there, and oil drilling was just getting started! There used to be hundreds of oil companies, just in West Texas! Time went on and the biggies started forming, so that they could afford to do more, and Boom, there were a lot of oil rich Texans! That is why people from elsewhere used to make jokes about Texans having oil rigs in their back-yards!

Now, back to the animals that live there, I live in an area, that is much like West Texas, but covered in trees, mostly oak, mesquite, cedar, and other scrub brush. Yes, in Texas, between Austin and Houston, and there is one thing I can assure you, the oil rigs here, don’t bother any of the many critters that live here! See my point? As in the picture above, there is plenty of room for the animals to move over a little bit! Ok, the traffic in and out, yes, that is a pain, while the drilling is going on, but that is over pretty quick, once the well has a pump on it. Yes, the well pumps do make noise, but it isn’t bad, I have one about a hundred yards or so from my house. No, its not mine, but there are a lot of them around here. Read more

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