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Factoids: ANWR and Worlds Forests
By: Jon Dougal - Tuesday, December 6, 2005
Source: Various
Size: The refuge is 19 million acres, much of which is barren, mountainous terrain in the northeast corner of Alaska above the
Arctic Circle.
Target: Drilling proponents focus on the 1.5 million-acre coastal plain, which is on the northernmost tip of the refuge at the edge
of the Beaufort Sea.
Wildlife: Prime calving area for caribou, spring and summer stopping point for thousands of migratory birds, home to polar bears
and 45 species of land and marine mammals.
History: Created in 1960. The fight over the oil began in 1980 when President Jimmy Carter doubled the size of the wildlife
refuge and designated most of it as wilderness. Congress allowed the coastal plain to be studied for its oil potential and its wilderness
values.
Previous attempts: Alaskan officials — led by the state's powerful and senior congressional delegation — had nearly succeeded in opening the refuge in the 1980s when the oil tanker, Exxon Valdez, struck Bligh Reef in 1989, fouling Prince William Sound.
Congress passed a bill approving drilling in the refuge in 1995, but President Bill Clinton Vetoed it.
Amount of oil: Uncertain. A 1987 government survey, updated in 1998, provided estimates of "technically recoverable oil"
ranging from 5.7bln to 16bln barrels (42 gallons) depending upon the price of oil and the technology companies use to drill. Scientists -say that means there is a 95% chance of producing the lower figure, but only a 5 percent chance of producing the higher
estimate.
Timetable: Seven to 10 years until oil is produced and about 20 years before the oil fields beneath the refuge hit their peak
production.
Lease revenue: An estimated $5 billion during the first five years of production split between the federal government and the state
of Alaska.
Use: Americans consume 9.1 million barrels of oil every day just to fuel their cars, trucks and SUVs.
Comparison: The Energy Information Administration has estimated the refuge, if opened to drilling, could reach peak production of about 876,000 barrels of oil a day by 2025, while worldwide demand for oil now has climbed to 84 million barrels a day
Effect: Foreign oil accounts for 70% of U.S. consumption. At estimated peak production, oil from the Alaskan wildlife refuge would decrease that figure to 66%.
Get more: www.arctic.fws.gov, or go to the www.sfgate.com
The world's forests are being destroyed at a slightly-slower-if-still-alarming rate. A U.N report compared trends in 229 countries over the past five years with data from the 1990s, finding that on average, just over 18 million acres of forest have been destroyed every year since 2000. (read the “bio-fuels” article in this edition)
That's down from 22 million acres a year in the prior decade. South America beat out Africa for the dubious distinction of continent with highest net annual loss of forests.
Tree planting and natural forest expansion in North America, Europe, and especially China are bolstering the world's overall forest cover, reports the FAO.
But biologists contend that tree plantations cannot make up for the plant and critter diversity being lost with virgin forest habitats.
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