The problem with drilling in Alaska is not just about a few caribou herds, or other groups of animals.

It is about the destruction of a unique environmental system. There are a number of such unique systems in the world; the Columbian rainforest is one; the Florida Everglades is another. The ice-fields of Greenland, the forests of Bavaria, the deserts of Australia, the grasslands of Mongolia: all deserve protection, if for no other reason (say, their beauty, the people they support, or the sheer RIGHT THEY HAVE TO EXIST) than that there is much to be learned from such systems on a scientific basis. The medicines discovered in the plants of the rainforest, the priceless information that the unique creatures of the Everglades can impart to zoologists, these are reasons for preserving these systems; this includes the Alaska refuge.

When such a unique system is compromised or ruined, it can never be repaired. The continuing decimation of species on this planet, leading to a decrease in biological diversity, is harming ALL creatures. Nature exists in a symbiotic, synergistic relationship with itself. A tree in the forest is connected to the moss and fungus that grow on it, the humus decomposing beneath it, the flowers that spring up around it, and the squirrels, birds and insects that feed upon it. Destroy one of those creatures, the other ones in the system suffer.

If we drill in that Alaskan wildlife preserve, not all the species will die all at once. But the first ones to go will eventually lead to the death or lessening of the others. It will be irrevocable. Some species may never recover; even to extinction.

And that is not even factoring in what would happen to that system (not to mention the humans who live near it) if there was major oil spill: something that, given previous track records at off-shore sites, is VERY likely to happen...