Never drill in ANWR

Editor:

No; never drill in the beautiful, pristine, fragile Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, destroying it forever by turning it into another hideous mess like nearby Prudhoe Bay with its frequent oil spills, numerous accidents and permanent destruction in a fragile land that will never recover. I have seen this personally and was told the oil was being sent to japan.

I have spent time in ANWR, rafting and hiking. Mt. Chamberlin in the Brooks Range there is named for my grandfather.

Wildlife, including polar bears, and native people who depend on this land for their livelihood should be considered and people consulted. Certainly we do have a serious energy problem that needs solutions, the sooner the better.

There are many oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. Perhaps more could be added? The oil companies own leases on about 68 million acres of land they are not using, yet they want more. (New York Times Editorial June 19,2008) There may-or may not be-ample oil in ANWR but it would take years to obtain it.

By all means solve the energy problem with new technology and whatever it takes, but not by ruining one of the few remaining true wilderness areas in this country.

Also Alaska pipeline has too many serious leaks, once someone shot a hole in it resulting in a mess, plus the Valdez disaster, it is open to sabotage and the oil should be sent here, not to Asia.

Frances Chamberlin Carter, Green Valley