‘Social Assets vs. Energy Future’

Krauthammer makes an appealing argument for exploring for oil in the Arctic Game Refuge. Unfortunately, he has allowed his emotions to get in the way of important facts.

He states that “there is a 20% chance of finding an oil field there as huge as the one at Prudhoe Bay.” Actually, the so-called “1002 Study” predicts a 20% chance of finding “economically recoverable” oil. The Alaska Department of Natural Resources estimates that there is a 95% chance that the Coastal Plain holds 80 million barrels; this would be a five-day supply at present usage rates!

He glosses over the Administration’s actions which have opposed and successfully prevented important conservation measures, e.g., fuel-efficiency standards for automobiles and electrical appliances. Such steps, had they been implemented, would have provided the equivalent of four to five times the most probable yield from the Arctic Refuge--and forever!

He refers to one incident with a polar bear on the North Slope as if such an incident was a rarity. But there have been 17,000 documented oil spills despite the regulations.

He minimizes the effect upon the caribou herd and, in essence, suggests that, even if the herd is irreparably harmed, national defense requires it. First, numerous biologist (who are not oil company employees or consultants) still express serious concern over the herd’s future if the exploration is initiated.

But one must take a global view. The caribou are just one of almost countless species endangered by human actions. Perhaps, for argument’s sake, one might countenance the sacrifice of one species. But when one views the overall catastrophe, it becomes clear that we are adept at justifying each action while ignoring the overwhelming totality. Somewhere, and sometime, we must stop the continuing elimination of hundreds of species. It must begin somewhere. And the Arctic Refuge is an ideal place to start.

ADOLPH B. AMSTER

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