John Kerry's position on

ANWR: Should drilling for oil be allowed in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska? ANWR is an area of northeast Alaska that contains 19 million acres. 8.9 million acres of ANWR is designated as wilderness. The costal plain which consists of 1.5 million acres is not designated as wilderness and is the area where oil drilling has been proposed. Most geologists agree that the potential is on the order of billions of barrels of recoverable oil and trillions of cubic feet of recoverable gas. Experts say that it could take anywhere from three and a half years to up to ten years to begin receiving oil from ANWR.

Description of candidate's position: John Kerry is against drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Kerry supports using oil from the SPR to help lower prices. He has proposed a $5,000 incentive for consumers who buy "clean energy" vehicles. Kerry is also in favor of raising car mileage requirements to 36 mpg by 2015; also Kerry wants to invest $10 billion over the next decade to develop cleaner and more efficient coal-fired power plants.

Quotation from the candidate: "For thirty-years, I have been fighting to protect the environment &endash; and I've won important battles. I pledge today that I will be "the true environmental President," but when I say it, its not just rhetoric &endash; I have the record to back it up. Over and over again, I've found myself at the forefront of the battle against the powerful corporations and their revolving door government friends who want to turn back progress on fuel efficiency, oil spills, and drilling. I have pushed for America to take the lead in guarding the last pristine open spaces in the world like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, to slow the destruction of coral reefs, and to stop the extinction of ocean life. I've been a leader in battling global warming and worked with Senator John McCain to make America's cars cleaner and safer." -Environmental policy address October 20,2003

Assessment of the proposal:

Positive: Senator John Kerry has been endorsed by the League of Conservation Voters for his record of accomplishment, and commitment to environmental issues. Senator Kerry has the highest lifetime rating given by the League of Conservation Voters. The League of Conservation Voters describes itself as "the political voice of the national environmental movement and the only organization devoted full-time to shaping a pro-environment Congress and White House."

Negative: The Heritage Foundation is a research and educational institute whose mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense. The Heritage Foundation states that permitting oil production in ANWR would spur economic growth, cut the trade deficit, and ease national security concerns. Moreover, it poses virtually no threat to the environment.

Comparison: As world demand for oil grows President Bush believes drilling should be allowed in ANWR. He would rather increase supply than reduce demand. The President advocates drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for a few reasons. First he believes the drilling can be done in an environmentally friendly ways. Second, the drilling would be done in an area about the size of an airport in Cleveland, Ohio, which would leave most of the area untouched. Third The President believes that we'd have a million extra barrels of oil flowing into our country.

Link to Bush's issue page