Drilling for oil in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is now close to reality, thanks to underhanded tactics on the Senate floor which flouted the representation of about half of America.

This is a tragedy of epic proportions because drilling in refuge is nonsense.

Opposition along the way has been fierce; a 1995 presidential veto blocked a similar attempt at drilling in refuge.

But this time the president is unlikely to veto this or any proposal involving oil companies.

Last week, the Senate blocked a measure to strip the 2006 congressional budget resolution of its drilling language in a close 51-49 vote. The drilling measure’s attachment to the budget blocks a filibuster because of budget rules.

A 2000 Department of Energy assessment estimated refuge reserves at 1 million to 1.35 million barrels per day. Initial production would not begin until 2010 and peak production would be another 20-30 years, according the DOE. This is hardly enough oil to justify the destruction of the refuge.

America imported 10 million barrels per day during the week of March 11 according to the DOE weekly petroleum status report. Drilling in refuge may eliminate 10 percent of those imports in 30 years and that is the best estimate available from those who condone the drilling in the first place.

Environmentalists go further. The Sierra Club said the amount of oil in refuge represents a six-month supply.

Refuge is a delicate ecosystem. The caribou, musk oxen and polar bear which inhabit the refuge depend on its pristine nature and lack of development to thrive.

A typical view of the 1002 area provided by U.S. Geological Survey in its 1998 petroleum assessment showed a lush green tundra dotted with blue lakes.

The area is neither desolate nor barren, as Interior Secretary Gail Norton characterized it.

The world has few pristine places left. This nation should not be in the business of destroying those which remain. America must focus on conservation as opposed to ecological destruction.

Come to tonight’s Student Association Debate to hear the executive candidates’ views. The debate is at 7 p.m. today at the Holmes Student Center’s Diversions Lounge.