Dougdarlin', a few months worth of oil, at the expense of pristine wilderness, is not going to free us of our dependence on mid-east oil. To do that, we have to develop a LOT of self-discipline, something I am not confident of our consumerism society ever doing.

From my research for my op/ed piece on this, my emphasis:

"During the Reagan administration, the Department of Interior found there was a chance of less than one in five of ever finding recoverable oil in the ANWR. If oil companies beat those odds and strike pay dirt, both the Department of Energy and the U.S. Geological Survey have said it would most likely amount to a mere 3.2 million barrels, which would only last a few months in meeting the needs of American consumers. It would also take about ten years to even hit the market. Ninety-five percent of Alaska's North Slope is available for oil exploration. Oil companies expect to step up their production on the North Slope with forecasted increases of 15-17%, all without opening any of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

"Americans consume 25% of the world's oil. America has, at the most, reserves of 2-3% of the world's oil. Even if we sacrificed all of our wilderness areas, parks, coastlines, etc., we would never be able to become independent of foreign oil; at our present rate of consumption, there literally is not enough oil in the ground for development."

Consumerism is the bottom line in the battle for saving our planet. What does it take to get people to give up their gas-guzzling SUV's etc.?

kat