by Leanan » Thu 19 Aug 2004, 12:12:02
It's not so much oil production as just the human presence. Environmentalists would protest if someone wanted to put a bank of wind turbines in ANWR, too. You'll need to bring in heavy-duty equipment, which means trees will be cut down and roads and airstrips will be built. Amenities for the people who work there will have to be constructed: housing, shopping, entertainment, etc. Once the infrastructure is there, people will follow. At least, that's what's happened before, and environmentalists believe it will happen again. Once the roads are built, tourists, hotels, snowmobiles, etc. will follow.