During the last few months of Donald Trump’s time in office, he and his administration allowed oil and gas drilling in a 1.5 million acres of the Arctic. This caused an uproar in our society. Although it had made many Americans angry, Republicans have supported the idea since the Reagan administration back in 1987.
Trump’s excuse was to secure the dominating factor of energy resources and people felt that it was efficient. Out of everything he’s done, he and his administration decided that in the last few days of being in office they were going to announce leases for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
However, the idea of starting oil and gas drilling in the Arctic is a terrible one, because it not only causes more air pollution, but it disturbs the environment. Many animals, plants, and inhabitants will also be majorly affected.
The Arctic is not a place for oil drilling. Why would anyone believe that this would be a place to do so? There has already been so much damage due to climate change that we don’t need to damage it more. So many indigenous communities and wildlife will be majorly affected.
The Arctic is a place for breeding grounds and migrations, and if it’s disturbed, it could lead to endangerment or even extinction. If oil drilling occurs, it could greatly destroy the Arctic.
The high risk of oil spills is another one of the reasons why it’s a terrible idea to drill there. The Arctic is a place that’s hardly touched and has an overwhelming beauty to it. Some animals that might be affected by this are seals, arctic foxes, beluga whales, polar bears, and walruses. These animals, especially polar bears, are vulnerable to becoming extinct. Beluga whales are also endangered, and very important for the food chain.
Overall, oil drilling in the Arctic should never, and I repeat never, happen. Our earth’s climate is already fragile enough and there’s no reason to make it worse. Also if this is allowed it’ll make an irreversible impact on our planet.
If the people in Congress are capable of making good choices for climate change, then that would be very beneficial. Also having more activists and people who truly care about this issue should spread information.
With Joe Biden as our president now he made the executive order to pause all drilling in the Alaskan areas. President Biden also made the act to reverse any damage that Donald Trump has made towards the Arctic, and he has now asked to permanently protect it.
