Former U.S. Senator urges opposition to Arctic oil interests
By Bryan Houston
Emerald Contributor
Conservation, not exploita
tion of wilderness areas is the
answer to America's energy
problems, according to former
Gov. and Sen Gaylord Nelson
Nelson, a full-time counselor
and public speaker for the en
vironmental group. The
cording to Nelson.
Nelson cited estimates made
bv geologists who have studied
the ansa Their figures revealed
that there is an 81 percent
chance that no commercially
produced oil will be found in
ANYVK. leaving only a 1*J per
cent chance any amount of oil
will be discovered The oil in
terests. according to Nelson,
hope to find alxsut .'1.2 billion
‘It is the only untouched arctic eco
system in the world; there is nowhere else
like it.*
— Gaylord Nelson
Wilderness Society, was at the
University l<aw Center on Tues
day and spoke to an audience of
45 people regarding the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge (AN
WK) and the controversy wag
ing in the U S. Senate over it.
At stake is whether to
preserve the refuge for the
wildlife inhabiting the area or
to open the area to oil interests.
The area in question is
known as 1002, the number of a
House law passed in 1980 that
identifies the Arctic Costal
IMain as a national refuge
Nelson said the area, located in
northeast Alaska, is about 19
million acres, close to half the
size of Oregon
‘‘It is the only untouched arc
tic eco-system in the world;
there is nowhere else like it,”
he said.
About Hit),(MX) caribou and
two million shorebirds would
be displaced if oil Interests
liegan drilling in the area a<
barrels of oil in the area.
ANVVR is located east of
Prudhoe Bay. an Alaskan
wilderness where oil was
discovered, and tin* reserve
there yielded nine billion bar
rels of commercially produced
oil. Hut tho chances of a find
like that are only one percent.
Nelson said, and the number of
barrels would hardly be a long
lerm energy solution.
"Nine billion barrels of oil
would only be a one-and-one
half year supply for the U.S..”
he said.
Kstimates by the U.S. Depart
ment of the Interior have said
there are IB.6 billion barrels of
oil in Alaska, and around eight
billion barrels have been
discovered. Despite this fact.
Nelson said he did not think
the United States should go in
to Iragile oco-systems without
plenty of background research,
and not nearly enough has been
dona on ANVVR As of now. he
Photo by Rachel Kirby
Gaylord Nelson spoke at the liniversily law school on Tuesday about the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuse in Alaska.
said, there are several bills be
ing studied in Congress on the
issue, and nothing conclusive
on either side of the issue has
been decided because this Con
gress is “inadequately inform
ed" on ANWR
“I think they should let a
future Congress (after the 1988
election) decide on this because
it needs a better study." Nelson
said.
Nelson, former governor of
Wisconsin and former senator
in the Wisconsin State Senate
and in the U.S. Senate, ad
vocated that citizens concerned
about the issue should write
their Congressman about it.
The meeting opened with a
15-minute video presentation
about ANVVR. produced by The
Wilderness Society. It was
about the animals living in the
area, the losses they would suf
fer if oil drilling was to take
place there, and the problems
other areas such as Prudhoe
Hay have suffered because of oil
drilling
Nelson also said while there
were a number of citizens from
Alaska who were opposed to
the oil interests' desires, most
citizens and politicians favored
leasing the land to oil and gas
leasing. He conjectured this
fact was due to the economic
benefits the project would br
ing to the area.
Hut in closing. Nelson stress
ed again citizens should write
their Congressman to express
their opinions on the matter.
“You get actively interested
(in this issue), and write your
Congressman to inform him
about this." Nelson said.
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