Alaska Oil

* Re “2 Villages, 2 Views of the Dynamics of Oil,” April 16: Rushing to despoil the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to solve an immediate demand for oil and gas seems fraught with foolishness. The oil, if found, will not belong to the Native Alaskan people. The oil will belong to the company that drills the wells and owns the lease. The United States will not determine where the oil is sold; the oil company will have that right. The company may or may not sell the oil in the lower 48. It may decide to sell it to Japan or China or any other industrialized country in the market for oil.

In the meantime, the damage that has been done will be left to the citizens of the U.S. to clean up. Also, the oil in place in ANWR is as valuable to the U.S. as the national reserve we have been accumulating. It will, in all likelihood, be more valuable in the future than now. This whole scheme is nuts! Protect the wildlife and the Gwich’in Indian way.

RALPH D. DEARDEN

Santa Maria

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* George Will, in his April 15 commentary, “Moral Exhibitionism Takes a Rest,” proves he is no squirrel when it comes to preparing for the future and gathering his nuts for the winter. His analogy of the search for oil as a room full of pistachio nuts, wherein after one eats most of the nuts he merely checks into the next room full of nuts, casts him as the pig who built his house from straw.

Even if we can dig 30 years of oil from the ground, how long can we wait before seriously developing alternate sources of energy to prevent a long, harsh winter?

We must concentrate now on bridging the gap between oil and other energies or it’s going to be a lot more painful--beyond Will’s supply of nuts and straw.

TOM OHLIGER

Los Angeles