ANWR: To drill or not to drill?

I just came back from my latest stop on CNN's Energy Hunt, all the way up in Kaktovik, Alaska. The native town of just 300 is the only settlement in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR), a large region set aside in 1960 as a wildlife refuge. Kaktovik is a busy place for the Arctic, but most people there still lead a traditional life hunting caribou and other game.

Now, this small town and the tundra that surrounds it have caught the attention of Washington politicians and multi-national oil companies alike, who are all eager to exploit oil deposits in the reserve. Now that oil prices worldwide hover around $125 a barrel, the push to expand Alaska's oil production into the northern part of the reserves is picking up pace.

Proponents like President Bush say drilling in ANWR would reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil. Environmentalists say any disruption to the pristine landscape and the local wildlife is too high of a price to pay. They want to keep the reserve off-limits to oil drilling. So, here is a summary of the debate as it stands right now:

1) How much oil is there in ANWR? The Department of Energy estimates there is enough crude oil to produce up to 780,000 barrels a day; on that basis, we'd be looking at U.S. crude production of about 5 million barrels a day, and worldwide production of 73 million barrels of crude. (These estimates exclude other petroleum liquids found in oil).

2) How much land are we talking about? If Congress does act to open up ANWR to oil development, only a small portion - about the size of the state of Delaware - would be used; the untouched land would be as big as South Carolina.

3) How will development affect the local economy? Drilling in ANWR could bring jobs and money to Kaktovik, currently an economically depressed place.

4) How would local wildlife be affected? Alaska natives hunt the caribou and other game all along this part of the state, and they worry that opening up ANWR could drive those animals away.

5) Will drilling in ANWR lower gas prices? For most, this is the most important question; the Energy Department's best estimate is that drilling may lower the price of gasoline by only one-to-three cents a gallon.

There has been oil drilling in Alaska for more than 30 years - around ANWR in Prudhoe Bay and other places pumping out some 700,000 barrels a day - but never in ANWR. Considering the U.S. currently imports over 60 percent of its oil from abroad, you would think that any new domestic source would be welcome. But, the Department of Energy says any increase in production out of ANWR might only reduce that number by 2 percent by 2030.

So is adding more domestic oil to the pipeline really worth any potential cost to the local environment and wildlife? Perhaps like the rest of Americans when it comes to this issue, I found opinions in Kaktovik split down the middle.