The Energy Stewardship Alliance has worked hand in hand with Arctic Power to help promote the opening of the Coastal Plain of ANWR to responsible oil and gas development. The Alliance is made up of member organizations that will be directly and indirectly affected by the production of oil and gas from the ANWR coastal plain. These organizations represent all walks of life; from farmers, to shipbuilders, to autoworkers, to small business owners, to veterans, to organizations for senior citizens. All somehow will benefit from bringing Alaska's oil and gas resources to market. This could mean direct employment in jobs, to cheaper material prices for production of goods, to even just a lower fuel bill during a long winter. The Energy Stewardship Alliance firmly believes that opening ANWR will be a benefit for all Americans and puts the weight of the individuals of all its organizations behind the efforts of Arctic Power to help for Congressional passage of ANWR legislation.

The following is a policy paper from the ESA on America's need for a proactive energy policy.

America Needs a National Energy Policy
Balancing Our Need for Energy with Our Concern for the Environment

America's energy crisis makes it more dependent on foreign oil than during the energy crisis caused by the Arab oil embargo in the 1970's. After decades without national energy policy, America is becoming more vulnerable to foreign events that could threaten our oil supply. Heavy reliance on foreign oil, especially from the Persian Gulf, leaves the U.S. increasingly open to trouble. Any mischief by OPEC, for example, could wreak havoc with our economy. Legislation to open the Coastal Plain of ANWR aims to fix this problem. Indeed oil from ANWR is America�s best and most sensible option to bring relief to our skyrocketing dependence on foreign oil, increase our national security, and help reduce our national debt all in one

Demand for oil in the United States and in the world is increasing every year. Now OPEC is cutting its supply to raise international oil prices. Many experts worry that rising oil prices coupled with a slowing economy and falling stock prices could draw the U.S. economy into a recession.

Our nation's energy needs are complicated. They are diverse and are not the same in each region of the country. We must utilize the technology that has brought us into the computer age to take us into the next energy age.

America faces energy challenges nationwide: blackouts in California; record-setting heating oil prices in New England (half the homes in this region rely on heating oil); fuel prices have skyrocketed last summer in the Midwest, Across America, most of your next tank of gas is coming from a foreign country. Oil and petroleum product imports now cost the U.S. citizens more that $170 billion a year.

To decrease dependence on foreign oil sources, the United States must access domestic resources that have the potential to be developed, increase refining capacity and improve energy infrastructure to deliver more energy to regions where there is not enough. With current refinery production running at 98%, the United States is in a dangerous situation. No new, large refineries have been built in the last 30 years. Conservation and development of alternative energy sources must certainly be part of this policy. Yet conservation and alternative energy sources alone cannot possibly meet the demands of the current growing economy. America is rapidly growing to a nation of 300 million citizens living in a technology-oriented new economy; a growing population and the technology revolution require more energy. Energy consumption is up and growing because of rapid increases in energy use in telecommunications, office equipment, and computers. The Department of Energy predicts that residential energy consumption will increase by 28% by 2020.

Today, America imports an average of 58% of its oil, twice as much as it did at the time of Operation Desert Storm. During peak summer months last year, America imported over 64% of its oil. Domestic oil production is one key component in securing our nation's future. It would not only save us the money we spend abroad, but it would stimulate our national economy by creating jobs, increase our financial coffers with the tax revenues gained by lease sales, and increase the physical refined products available for us to use. In a growing economy as we have, new materials, capitol and workers are crucial. ANWR oil will allow this to take place.

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) contains what experts believe might be the largest supply of oil in America's history. The U.S. Geological Survey reports that beneath the one and a half million-acre tract in Alaska's Coastal Plain is upwards of sixteen billion barrels of recoverable oil. Given current rates of import, sixteen billion barrels of oil is enough to replace oil from Iraq for 71 years. Sixteen billion barrels of Coastal Plain oil is the energy equivalent of 17.7 billion barrels of gasoline (742 billion gallons of gasoline), which at the 2000 rate of domestic gasoline consumption of 8.4 million barrels a day, is the equivalent of total U.S. gasoline consumption for nearly six years. The tract in the Coastal Plain was designated by Congress in 1981 to study its oil and gas potential. In 1987, the Department of Interior recommended to proceed with development.
Thanks to technological advances, oil can now be extracted while dramatically reducing the "footprint" on the land. Using horizontal drilling, one production pad on the surface can drain more than 64 square miles of subsurface oil. 3-D seismic detection can locate oil with more accuracy than ever before. Oil companies have learned to develop fields with more compact facilities and using non-permanent ice roads. Elevated pipelines allow wildlife to roam freely. After 30 years of strict environmental regulation and scientific studies on the Arctic animals, it is clear that the industry and wildlife can life side by side in harmony.

A national energy policy is fundamental to America meeting and beating the energy crisis. More domestic energy and a concern for the environment needn't be at odds. Armed with advancing technology and greater knowledge, America can satisfy its need for energy while protecting the environment.

Energy Stewardship Alliance Members (ESA)

(December, 2004)

60 Plus Association
Air Transport Association
Alaska Airlines
Alaska Municipal League
Alaska State Chamber of Commerce
Alaska Support Industry Alliance
American Bus Association
American Farm Bureau Federation
American Moving and Storage Association
American Petroleum Institute
American Trucking Association
Associated Equipment Distributors
Associated General Contractors of America
Boating Trades Association of Metropolitan Houston
California Independent Petroleum Association
Center for Individual Freedom
Competitive Enterprise Institute
Energy Consumers and Producers Association
Equipment Manufacturers Institute
Illinois Oil and Gas Association
Independent Petroleum Association of America
International Association of Drilling Contractors
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
Jacksonville Marine Association
Lake Erie Marine Trades Association
Marine Industry Association of Florida
Marine Retailers Association of America
Michigan Boating Industries Association
Montana Independent Automobile Dealers Association
Motor Freight Carriers Association
Mountain States Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association
National Association of Counties
National Association of Manufacturers
National Black Chamber of Commerce
National Business Aviation Association
National Business Travel Association
National Cattlemen's Beef Association
National Corn Growers Association
National Food Processors Association
National Foundation for Women Legislators Energy Sub-Committee
National Grange
National Independent Automobile Dealers Association
National Industrial Transportation League
National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association
National Paint and Coatings Association
National Petrochemical & Refiners Association
National Private Truck Council
National Truck Equipment Association
New Mexico Independent Automobile Dealers Association
New York State Oil Producers Association
Northwestern Lumber Association of South Dakota
Petroleum Equipment Suppliers Association
Petroleum Marketers Association of America
Recreation Vehicle Industry Association
Service Station Dealers Association
Small Business Survival Committee
South Dakota Cattlemen's Association
South Dakota Chamber of Commerce
South Dakota Independent Automobile Dealers Association
Southern California Marine Association
Southwestern Peanut Growers Association
Texas Alliance of Energy Producers
Transportation Institute
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
United Seniors Association, Inc.

Petroleum Council Members
Alabama Petroleum Council
Arkansas Petroleum Council
Connecticut Petroleum Council
Delaware Petroleum Council
Florida Petroleum Council
Georgia Petroleum Council
Illinois Petroleum Council
Indiana Petroleum Council
Iowa Petroleum Council
Kansas Petroleum Council
Kentucky Petroleum Council
Maine Petroleum Council
Maryland Petroleum Council
Massachusetts Petroleum Council
Associated Petroleum Industries of Michigan
Minnesota Petroleum Council
Missouri Oil Council
New Jersey Petroleum Council
New York State Petroleum Council
North Carolina Petroleum Council
North Dakota Petroleum Council
Ohio Petroleum Council
Associated Petroleum Industries of Pennsylvania
South Carolina Petroleum Council
Tennessee Petroleum Council
Virginia Petroleum Council
Wisconsin Petroleum Council