Subscribe to one of our news e-mail lists . When we get into the discussion and the debate, we'll recognize that through technology we can have a manageable footprint and protect the environment and the ecology. Oil companies have long been determined to drill in Arctic Refuge, and conservationists have been just as determined to keep them out. Now, with a former oil man in the White House, and energy issues on the front page of the nation's newspapers, Murkowski's bill would open up the refuge for drilling.
Nobody's sure exactly how much oil is under the refuge.
The U.S. Geological Survey figures that at current oil prices, about 6 billion barrels would be worth pumping out. That's roughly enough to supply all U.S. oil needs for about 11 months. That's where the oil is. The section targeted for drilling houses caribou calving grounds and habitat for polar bears, musk oxen and migratory birds. Congress set up the giant Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, about the size of South Carolina, in 1980.