LETTER: Don't believe the hype about arctic drilling

A tall tale from Big Oil has been floating around the media recently.

Its mission is to make destroying pristine wilderness sound reasonable.

They tell us: "We're only going to drill in 2,000 acres of the Arctic Refuge — We swear!" But Big Oil's "2,000 acres" will sprawl across the entire Arctic Refuge just like 1,800 acres of Turnpike slices all across New Jersey. A network of drill sites, pipelines, roads, airstrips and other infrastructure will effectively destroy one of the most important wildlife sites in North America.

And all for what? A four-cent drop per gallon of gas that we won't even see for nearly 20 years. Former Rep. Sherwood Boehlert said it best in 2003: "It is only a few thousand acres, they say. That is like saying, do not worry, the tumor is only in your lungs. The drilling will have impacts that will affect wildlife throughout the area."

If we buy the myth, we'll end up getting short-changed.