.... and whether the USA should drill for oil there.
There are two maps here - one of all of Alaska showing where ANWR is within Alaska.
The
other map is a more detailed map of ANWR.
The
best way to give a precise location is by giving the distance and
direction from another place (using the scale line on the map).
You will be asked to describe the physical environment shown in this image. You need to consider things like...
* evidence about the weather or climate
* evidence about the relief (landforms / scenery)
* evidence about the wildlife (plants or animals)
The poster seems to suggest that environmentalists would oppose drilling for oil in ANWR because it might disturb the wild animals like polar bears.
The ANWR oilfield is also the main place where the caribou go to have their young each year.
The poster suggests that extracting the oil from ANWR could help to create between 250000 and 750000 jobs across the whole of the USA.
That's a lot of paid employment for a lot of people.
No-one is sure how much oil there is under ANWR - this is because they have not been allowed to do any test drilling.
They estimate it could be as much as 10.4 billion barrels of oil. This is a lot of oil!
It could help to make the USA self-sufficient in oil. They would not have to rely on buying from other countries. It means America might not have to rely as much on trade with Arabic countries like Iraq.
The Oil Industry means buildings and pipelines that spoil the appearance of the wilderness.
Also there is more pollution if the pipeline breaks and oil spills out.
Building structures on frozen permafrost ground is never easy and can also damage the environment.
The caribou (representing the environment) seems to have held up the oil tanker (that represents economic progress).
The opinion given here is that the economy is too important to be damaged by wildlife.
It suggests jobs are more important than the environment.
The Gwichin tribe are caribou hunters. They do not want anything to disturb their connection with caribou. They are scared that the oil industry will harm the caribou.
They totally oppose any drilling for oil.
The world is shown like a car with a fuel gauge. The petrol tank is nearly empty. But soon there will be nowhere to refuel because our oil reserves are running out.
The use of oil is NOT SUSTAINABLE.
So - what are the alternatives?
(.... use less oil, conserve energy, find new technology, develop renewable energy ... these points need developing a bit.)
