The main objection to developing the oil resources in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is the potential impact on the Porcupine Caribou herd that migrates through the area. The arguments are made in terms of broad generalities, along the lines of “caribou are in the same area, so they are threatened.” If one tries to quantify the threat, is turns out that perhaps 1% of the herd might be impacted in some way, but the actual reduction in the herd size is probably a good deal less.

There is plenty of oil in offshore areas already leased to oil companies, so why don’t the oil companies just go get that oil rather than ask for new leases. The reason is that the current price of oil is not high enough to make it profitable.

The reason why the Americans, Europeans, Japanese and others who buy oil want the price of oil to go down is that their economies would benefit if it dropped. The Saudis, Mexicans, Norwegians, and others who produce oil would like the price of oil to rise, because their economies would benefit if it did. Clearly, it is not so much about the price as it is whether you are buying or selling, and most importantly, how much.