Opinion Source Information:
From Hinchey's Website:
The centerpiece of the Bush Administration's energy plan is to drill for oil in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. This move would simply be a gift to the oil companies that would do little, if anything, to affect our energy prices or security. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that the amount of oil that could be recovered from the Arctic Refuge would amount to less than a six-month supply for American consumers. It will take 7 to 10 years for any oil from the Arctic Refuge to make it to market - and it wouldn't even help our region. None of it is shipped east of the Rocky Mountains and no Alaska oil is refined into home heating oil. At no time would oil from the refuge be expected to meet more than 2 percent of U.S. demand. The Arctic Refuge is one of our national treasures and it deserves to be protected as wilderness, not despoiled for a few months worth of oil.