A.N.W.R.; Oil Fields or Wildlife Reserve

 

 By Max A. Herget

This is one of those topics, where you need to be careful what you say. I hope you can see my argument as reasonable. As usual, you need  to look at both sides of the story. This is the side opposing drilling for oil in A.N.W.R. 

Oil, one of the most in demand and sought after substances in the modern world. About 150 years ago, people had used such little amounts of oil that they thought supplies would surely last forever. However, recently, the United States and rest of the world has run into a problem with this fuel source. In the past 100 years, more people have started driving cars and using other modes of transportation, which require vast amounts of oil. With the recent collapse of the economy, fossil fuel prices have gone up, and supplies have gone down. Drilling productions have started to stop, and it is speculated that gas and oil prices could rise up to six dollars a gallon this summer. However, the government speculates that they have a solution to this “crisis.” They say that if we drill for oil in ANWR, Alaska, we can solve the shortage problem, and be free of foreign oil dependency. Sounds great doesn’t it, solving America’s oil crisis? Well, there’s a catch. In order to get to those rich deposits of oil in ANWR, we would have to invade and destroy part of a national wildlife reserve. In fact, ANWR is an acronym for Arctic National Wildlife Reserve. Then, we would have to build pipe lines to transport it here to the United States, or ship it here on massive oil barges. Should we drill for oil in ANWR? No, it would be an environmental, social, and economic hazard.

         

Socially, it would be a nightmare to drill in ANWR. First of all, there are so many other places to drill for oil closer to home, which contain more oil. In North Dakota alone, it is speculated that there are over 28 billion barrels worth of oil. North Dakota’s landscape is barren and little animals live there. This would be an ideal place for oil drilling. However the government thinks it would be a “bad idea” to drill for oil closer to home. If you discover oil on your land or property, they will literally stop up the land, and may send you to federal prison if you try to get to that oil. Really, if you think about it, there are two groups in this argument. Group number one is comprised of the people who want to drill for oil in Prudhoe Bay. Group number two is comprised of the people who don’t want to drill. If you can’t tell already, this paper was written by someone in group number two. However, what would happen economically?  

Drilling for oil in ANWR doesn’t seem like a bad idea for the economy, at first. The suppositories of oil would need to be mined, transported, and purified. This alone could create over 700,000 jobs. That’s the population of Alaska currently. If those people all had jobs, they would have more spending money. If they have more spending money, that means they are more prone to spend it and buy things. If they buy items, they are boosting the economy. Also, we would be free of foreign oil dependency, again boosting the economy. It also may help America’s debt. Sounds great, doesn’t it? Well, as always, (I know, it’s a little cliché.) there’s a catch. The oil suppository actually has very little oil in it, and it would only help our foreign oil dependency by four percent. America produces around only three percent of the world’s oil, but we use 25-30%. Also, there is only enough oil in ANWR to be mined for six months. When those six months are up, all of those 700,000 are out of a job again, and we’re back to square one, so it would actually be more cost effective not to drill there. However, this sounds like a dream compared to what would happen environmentally.

         

An ecosystem or environment is an extremely delicate community of plants and animals. These communities are easily disturbed and destroyed by human hands, and we would be doing it again on a massive scale this time. This area of land was supposed to be untouched by human hands. Well, recent explorations have led some to believe there to be a massive oil field or fields in this area. There is supposedly about 2,000 acres of land with oil under it. Well, this may be true, but think about the environment. We would be destroying the homes of, and perhaps killing, hundreds of animal lives. People say, “We can relocate them,” or “They’ll be fine.” Well, what’s just one more animal life to some greedy drilling company? The Reserve is 19,286,722 acres, and they only want to take 2,000 acres. What’s wrong with this? It’s human nature to want more once you’ve been given a little taste. People will say, “Hey, if there was oil there, there may be some more over here. We already drilled for some here why can’t we drill there?” Even worse, the 2,000 acres isn’t just in one place, the oil is spread out over 20-30 smaller deposits. So if did drill there, it would scar the landscape not only in one place, but in many.

The answer is no, simply no; we shouldn’t drill for oil there. The only one true way to solve the oil crisis is to invent new and alternative fuel sources. Some examples of this would be to use the natural gas that is trapped under the earth’s surface. Another would be to use hydrogen or helium as some sort of fuel source. Lastly, we could try to somehow harness the earth’s electromagnetic field. You see, as the earth spins around the sun, it creates a magnetic field. This field is evident when gama ray bursts (or simply solar flares) hit that field. When this happens, beautiful colored lights shine in the sky. These are the auroras, or northern lights. If we could tap into any one of these innovative fuel sources, we could revolutionize modern fuel. I really do not wish for people to drill in ANWR, but if they must I have to say proceed with caution. We didn’t create this world, please don’t destroy it. 

\Work Sited

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• e, Bye, and Britannica. "Information for the World's Business Leaders - Forbes.com." Information for the World's Business Leaders - Forbes.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2012. <http://www.forbes.com>.

"OilFields." NorthDakotasOilField. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2012. <www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/02/north-dakota-oil-field-housing_n_946349.htm>.

• "Arctic Power - Arctic National Wildlife Refuge - Home." Arctic Power - Arctic National Wildlife Refuge - Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2012. <http://www.anwr.org/>.

Harry Potter; Fact or Fantasy?

 I decided to do my essay on the facts and fantasy in the Harry Potter Series. The reason being, is because as I read the books, I noticed subtle truths and facts under the plot. I began to ask other if they saw what I say, and here you go. Harry Potter; fact or fantasy. 

Harry Potter has captivated the imaginations of readers and viewers for over 13 years. Some (like myself) have stuck with Harry (and friends) through Dragons, Mer-people, battles, and much more, until the very end. To think all of this was spun from the thread that is the mind of J.K. Rowling. However, how much of this is fantasy? Could there be fact and reality under all of this magic, mystery, and mayhem? The answer is yes, if you only look hard enough.

Dragons, wands, potions, and spells? Sounds more like a fairytale than a worldwide best selling young adult series. However, what fact lies behind fantasy? The idea of magic is as old as time itself. Numerous religions and ethnic groups have sprung up around the world claiming to possess magical powers, such as the Wiccan, Druid, and Voodoo. Some others believe that magic (Magick to some) is an evil and satanic rite. Some have even had book burnings of the Harry Potter series. Others claim it is just an innocent young adult novel. Some rituals that are considered magical (by some) that appear often in the media world are the Séance, Ouija boards, and voodoo dolls.    

Anyone who has read third through seventh Harry Potter books has heard of the terrible nightmarish creatures known as Dementors. They must have been created on the sort of “dark side” of J.K. Rowling’s mind. Dementors are the physical embodiment of fear and depression itself. They cause your worst memories to all come flooding back at once, and if they get close enough to you, suck out your very soul. The way they do this is a little gross, but it is known as the “Dementors Kiss.” The way it works is they weaken you with their power to cause your worst memories to submerge you in a sort of trance. Then, they swoop down to your face, and they lower their hood that they wear to conceal their grotesque faces, and they unhinge their jaw. Then, the rest is simple, they simply clamp their jaw over your mouth, and simply suck until your soul goes up through your mouth and into theirs. This must be an excruciatingly painful process. What’s worse is you don’t exactly die; you live a life without any emotion or feeling. Luckily, in the book, there is a way to protect yourself from the Dementors. It is a very special type of spell cast by a wizard or witch. The spell is extremely difficult to master and is different for every person, but when mastered its power is immeasurable. This spell is called a Patronus.

There are two types of Patronus’s. The first type is a simple silver shield like barrier, which keeps the Dementors at bay. The other kind is much more powerful, and is called a “full body Patronus.” A full body Patronus comes to a witch in the form of an animal. This kind of Patronus doesn’t only stop the Dementors from attacking you, but it actually banishes them. To conjure a Patronus, you must think of the happiest memory you can think of. J.K. Rowling said that the Dementors were inspired by her period of depression. The Patronus in her life was her two year old daughter. This shows that we all have obstacles in our life that we need to overcome. Even if we feel life is hopeless and full of despair.

In the books and movies, students get to the school of magic (Hogwarts) by train. However, to get to the train, Students have to pass through a brick barrier separating platforms 9 and 10 in kings cross station. After you go through this barrier, you emerge at platform 9 and three quarters. Some speculate that J.K. Rowling wrote this into the story as to say that in order to enter the magical world, you have to give up your sense of reality. You have to in a sense “lose yourself” in the magic. After all, nothing in science or reality could explain a person passing through a brick wall.

You see? If you only look, you will see real world connections and reality under all of the fantasy. Even if you don’t like to admit it, even the best of writers get their ideas from the real world and their own experiences. Here’s a little something to think about. If you want to write a story or book, then what in your life or the lives of others seem magical? After all, we’ve all dreamed at one point we had magic in our lives.