The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: You Know the Drill.

Well, I sort of slipped up on my promise to continue posting again. But THIS TIME I mean it!
In other news, today's article is about something that's thematically appropriate for this time of year--the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and the debate over whether it should be opened for oil drilling. Here's some background: The refuge sits atop one of the largest single deposits of untapped oil in the United States, and with supplies of oil dwindling it has been proposed by many that these deposits should be used to their fullest extent. After all, the argument goes, doing so would have the further benefit of reducing American dependence of foreign oil.
The downside, of course, is that the infrastructure for the drilling, as well as the waste it creates, is an environmental hazard. As the Deepwater Horizon oil spill of four years ago proves, an oil well can create devastating runoff if it is destroyed or damaged somehow.
The area that has been proposed to be opened for drilling encompasses much of the range of the Porcupine herd of caribou, or reindeer. Numbering over 169,000 animals, this is one of the largest herds of caribou in the world, and development of the area would block their access to their traditional breeding grounds.

 I personally believe that the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge should remain just that--a refuge. Making allowances for any sort of development in protected areas will simply open the door for them to be exploited in other ways in the future. And then what would happen to them?

A herd of caribou grazes near an oil derrick. Right now, oil drilling and wildlife lead an uneasy coexistence--but that may not be the case for much longer.