The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is home to caribou,moose, musk oxen, wolves, foxes, grizzlies, polar bearsand migratory birds. Leaders in the oil industry believethe refuge is the perfect site for the “environmentallysensitive exploration” of oil. Environmentalists arewondering: What will become of the wildlife?President George W. Bush, oil-industry leaders and othersbelieve that Americans will benefit from the oil that liesunder the snow-filled surface of the refuge. In theiropinion, the oil will help reduce high fuel prices anddecrease our need for oil from other countries.I believe the cost of such drilling is too high. I agree withenvironmentalists who fear that drilling will disturb themigration of more than 130,000 caribou. Each spring, thecaribou travel 400 miles to give birth on the coastal plain.In this area of the refuge, there are fewer predators. Inaddition, experts say that the oil in the area adds up toless than a six-month supply. Is such a small amount of oilworth the risk drilling poses to these animals?Americans are the largest consumers of oil. Instead ofdrilling for oil, we should decrease our need for foreignoil simply by using less. We must all work together to cutback on the oil we use in order to preserve the wildlifeof the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.