Now with the incentive of higher prices, there are already moves to increase domestic production of natural gas. In Ohio there may be at least 700 new wells drilled, reversing a 15-year trend of fewer and fewer wells. Campaigning on a priority of expanding domestic oil production, President-elect George W. Bush has said that he wants to begin drilling in about 1.5 million acres of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Environmentalists fear drilling in the ANWR would destroy a pristine wilderness, which has up till now been protected from oil exploration by legislation, a status Republicans in Congress have tried to reverse for years. Alaskans themselves are divided by the issue, torn between the profits such drilling would bring and the need to conserve energy and protect the environment.
Proposals are on the table for a new gas pipeline in the far north.
The state's biggest oil producers are currently conducting a study of the best pipeline route for Alaska natural gas. Most analysts predict they will elect the so-called Alaska Highway route through that state, across Yukon and into northern Alberta, because most of the approvals for that line were granted in the late '70s. While many of the issues that affect consumers may only be met in the long-term, in the short term there are ways to help reduce energy costs and fuel consumption. You can wake up to a warm bedroom without running the heater all night long. Employ a programmable thermostat to adjust heat use when you're asleep or away from home.