Oil exploration is wrong

I am against allowing petroleum exploration in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge for conservation reasons.

The world is running out of this non-renewable energy source. I know this because I did geologic exploration for petroleum worldwide for Texaco for 30 years. Throughout those years I searched in evermore remote and inhospitable places as regions became depleted or were proven to be non-productive. Now the most abundant reserves are limited to the Middle East, and production there can only just keep up with the ever-increasing world demand.

Soon production will not meet demand, and then every country will fight for what is left. To avoid Armageddon, there must be a slow and orderly change-over to conservation and to alternate and sustainable energy sources. This is the opposite of the Republicans' energy program, which does nothing to address worldwide long-term energy needs, consumption and conservation.

If ANWR is opened to exploration and oil is found, Americans will continue to guzzle gas. If it is opened much later, by then, hopefully, we will be conservation mined so that any oil found there will be used in a much more efficient manner.

DONALD W. HAGEN

Sagle