2007 Budget Resolution was passed by the US Senate, In March 2006. This resolution includes a provision for lease sales of the right to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska. It was estimated by the Congressional Budget Office that in the next five years income from lease sales could top $4.2 billion (source: ANWR).
In 1960 the Arctic National Wildlife Range was established. The purpose of its establishment is to protect the “unique wildlife, wilderness and recreational values” of the area. In 1980, the Alaska Lands Act was passed by Congress; this act renamed the area and more than doubled its size. Today, the area of ANWR comprises of nearly 20 million acres, which is about the size of South Carolina.
An authorization for the study of the oil and gas potential of the northern part of the Refuge was given by the same act, which is called the 1002 Area. It is still being thought that this region could be a possible oil-development site, but it is said by the environmental groups that any oil production in this region would deeply upset the natural ecosystem within the ANWR.
Still it is not known with certainty that how much oil exists under the ground of the ANWR. In 1998 an analysis was conducted by the United States Geological Survey (USGS).According to an estimate made by this survey there are about 7 billion barrels of profitable oil in the 1002 Area alone, but to know that how profitable that oil is, can only be determined by the price of crude-oil. The cost of producing the oil would offset any profit if the price of crude oil is below $16. In June 2008, prices rose above $130 per barrel (source: EIA).
The issue of gasoline prices is often a volatile one means it fluctuates between higher and lower prices. Every part of US economy would continue to be greatly influenced by the price of gas. And this happens as long as cars and other vehicles run on gasoline. As none of the other existing fuel sources, could be quickly integrated into the economy, due to this reason for the time being the Americans are dependent upon gasoline.
Due to this gas dependency everyone from the daily commuter to the shipping company executive are always very much aware about the fluctuations in price. The variations come in these fluctuations from week to week or month to month, but over time they are relatively stable. Having known about the limited resources, as well as environmental concerns related to oil use and production, Scientists are looking at new technologies, such as fuel cells, to reduce our dependence on oil and gas.
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