Figure 8.6 World crude oil reserves by regionPros
■ Easily transported through established pipelines and distribution
networks.
■ High net-energy yield.
■ Ample supply for the immediate future.
■ Large U.S. government subsidies in place.
■ Versatile—used to manufacture many products (e.g., paints, medicines,
plastics).Cons
■ World oil reserves are limited and declining.
■ Produces water pollution (e.g., wastewater and brine) when it is extracted.
■ Creates air pollution when burned (e.g., SO 2 , NOx, and CO 2 ).■ Causes land disturbances in the drilling process, which accelerates erosion
and increases earthquake activity.
■ Oil spills, both on land and in the ocean from platforms, pipelines, and
tankers, cause a disruption to wildlife (e.g., Deepwater Horizon oil spill in
the Gulf of Mexico and the Exxon Valdez oil tanker leak in Alaska).
■ World supplies are politically unstable (e.g., 1973 U.S. oil embargo).CASE STUDIES
ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE (ANWR): The ANWR,
which is the largest national wildlife refuge in the United States, is located in
northeastern Alaska and consists of 19 million acres (78,000 km^2 ). The
question of whether to drill for oil in the ANWR has been an ongoing political
controversy in the United States since 1977. Much of the debate over whether
to drill for oil in the ANWR rests on the effect economically recoverable oil
exploration might have on the environment (e.g., construction [roads, drilling
sites, housing]; loss or reduction of food resources for wildlife including
specific breeding and nesting sites; and the displacement and disruption of