More importantly, if we started drilling in the Refuge today, the Department of Energy projects that by 2020 it could supply 1.4 million barrels per day. World oil production in 2020 will be in the range of 110 to 120 million barrels per day. The Refuge would amount to about 1 percent of global oil supply, and thus have a trifling influence on the ability of the OPEC cartel to set oil prices. More nuclear power is not the answer, either. Experience of the last two decades has shown that electricity from nuclear power plants is the most expensive form of power when all costs are considered.
Nuclear power generates high level radioactive wastes that remain hazardous for thousands of years.
Many of us believe that this is an unacceptable burden for us to impose on future generations. Even with improved reactor design, the safety of nuclear plants remains an important concern. These are a few of the reasons why not a single new nuclear plant has been ordered in the U.S. since 1978. Energy conservation is painted as a return to the Stone Age, conjuring images of people huddling in the cold of their living rooms in front of lifeless TVs. But in reality, just the opposite is the case.