Should the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Be Opened to OilDrilling?

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Issue #7: Should the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Be Opened to Oil

Drilling?

Issue #7 was debating whether the oil reserves in the Arctic Circle should be drilled or not. First argument was presented from Dwight R. Lee, who strongly encouraged the drilling process. Amory B. Lovins and L. Hunter Lovins opposed Lee's argument with their own. Both arguments have similar and different points. "Both views agree that nature has a value; however, they disagree on the form that value" (pg118, 1st paragraph). Viewing from an anthropocentric perspective, conservationists say that nature's value lies mainly on its benefits on humans. Preservationists strongly disagree with this.
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Dwight R. Lee opens his argument with suggesting "the oil in Alaska would help to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign sources such as Middle East" (pg120, 2nd paragraph). Furthermore, he admits the fact that environmental drills will cause some harm; however, he also states that this harm caused is decreasing proportional with the technology. He then talks about the Audubon Society, which own the Rainey Wildlife Sanctuary, a giant sanctuary that provides home for fish, crab, deer, ducks, and wading birds. The sanctuary also contains some good amount of natural gas and oil. The Rainey Sanctuary let the ...

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