--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We should start by allowing drilling in…" description: "\"We should start by allowing drilling in Alaska's National Wildlife Refuge. It can provide billions of barrels of recoverable oil and trillions of cubic..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a22/mac-thornberry-16997_alaska_we-should-start-by-allowing-drilling-in_853140.jpg" --- # We should start by allowing drilling in Alaska's National… ![“We should start by allowing drilling in Alaska's National Wildlife Refuge. It can provide billions of barrels of recoverable oil and trillions of cubic feet of recoverable natural gas.” quote by Mac Thornberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a22/mac-thornberry-16997_alaska_we-should-start-by-allowing-drilling-in_853140.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a22/mac-thornberry-16997_alaska_we-should-start-by-allowing-drilling-in_853140.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a22/mac-thornberry-16997_alaska_we-should-start-by-allowing-drilling-in_853140.jpg) > “We should start by allowing drilling in Alaska's National Wildlife Refuge. It can provide billions of barrels of recoverable oil and trillions of cubic feet of recoverable natural gas.” [Mac Thornberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-thornberry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Drilling in Alaska's refuge could unlock massive oil and gas reserves, offering significant energy resources. **In simple terms:** Drilling could yield huge energy supplies. Key Takeaway Consider resource potential. Themes energy environment policy Mood controversial pragmatic Type policy environmental When to use this quote - energy security - budget planning - regional development - environmental assessment Key Concepts fossil fuels resource extraction economic impact Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards protect ecosystems? - How to balance energy needs with conservation? A Different Perspective Environmental risks and indigenous rights may be compromised. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alaska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alaska/) [Allowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/allowing/) [Allowing Drilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/allowing-drilling-771137/) [Barrels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/barrels/) [Billions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/billions/) [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Drilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drilling/) [Drilling Alaska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drilling-alaska-771136/) [Feet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feet/) [Gas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gas/) [Natural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural/) [Natural gas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural-gas/) [Oil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oil/) [Recoverable Oil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recoverable-oil-771138/) [Refuge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refuge/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Wildlife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wildlife/) ## Related quotes > [Here in the United States, we have between 250 and 300 years of a coal supply. That is more than the amount of recoverable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-holden/here-in-the-united-states-we-have-between-250-and-300-years-of-a-coal/) [Tim Holden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-holden/) > [Nobody disputes that cheap natural gas would be a good thing for the economy. The question is, is this a sustainable new development that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-goodell/nobody-disputes-that-cheap-natural-gas-would-be-a-good-thing-for-the/) [Jeff Goodell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-goodell/) > [Offshore drilling is not the solution to U.S. energy independence, and I am against opening parts of the Arctic, Pacific and Atlantic oceans to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deb-haaland/offshore-drilling-is-not-the-solution-to-u-s-energy-independence-and/) [Deb Haaland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deb-haaland/) > [If ignorance goes to forty dollars a barrel, I want drilling rights to George Bush's head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-hightower/if-ignorance-goes-to-forty-dollars-a-barrel-i-want-drilling-rights-to/) [Jim Hightower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-hightower/) > [We must proceed with our own energy development. Exploitation of domestic petroleum and natural gas potentialities, along with nuclear, solar, geothermal, and non-fossil fuels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-r-ford/we-must-proceed-with-our-own-energy-development-exploitation-of/) [Gerald R. Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-r-ford/) > [Up here in Alaska we're sitting on billions of barrels of oil. We're sitting on hundreds of trillions of cubic feet of natural gas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-palin/up-here-in-alaska-we-re-sitting-on-billions-of-barrels-of-oil-we-re/) [Sarah Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-palin/) > [Drilling in the Refuge is completely unnecessary when we could improve the average fuel economy of cars, minivans and SUV's by just 3 miles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-markey/drilling-in-the-refuge-is-completely-unnecessary-when-we-could/) [Ed Markey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-markey/) > [“You can't start drilling after dark, everyone knows that. He'd have to turn on all the lights and no one could say when they'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/you-can-t-start-drilling-after-dark-everyone-knows-that-he-d-have-to/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [What's a space elevator? Simply described, it's a thin ribbon, about 3 feet wide and 60 thousand miles long, stretching upwards from the surface…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/what-s-a-space-elevator-simply-described-it-s-a-thin-ribbon-about-3/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [If you opened up every single potential drilling opportunity in the United States, it would have the effect of lowering gas prices three cents,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-granholm/if-you-opened-up-every-single-potential-drilling-opportunity-in-the/) [Jennifer Granholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-granholm/) > [A democratically governed national fracking fund should be set up, perhaps similar to what Norway and Alaska have. Areas of drilling should be rented…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/a-democratically-governed-national-fracking-fund-should-be-set-up/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [Why would even I say we can't stop drilling in the Gulf? Because we have no alternatives. Whether or not we drill in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-safina/why-would-even-i-say-we-can-t-stop-drilling-in-the-gulf-because-we/) [Carl Safina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-safina/) > [Today 80 percent of all the oil that comes out of the Gulf is from 1,000 feet or more and today almost a third…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-graham/today-80-percent-of-all-the-oil-that-comes-out-of-the-gulf-is-from-1/) [Bob Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-graham/) > [My youngest sister, Cindy, has Down syndrome, and I remember my mother spending hours and hours with her, teaching her to tie her shoelaces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-chua/my-youngest-sister-cindy-has-down-syndrome-and-i-remember-my-mother/) [Amy Chua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-chua/) > [There's a lot of money to be made by strip-mining and drilling the dirtiest oil on the planet. But why should the rest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-redford/there-s-a-lot-of-money-to-be-made-by-strip-mining-and-drilling-the/) [Robert Redford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-redford/) ## More by Mac Thornberry > [It is very distressing that anyone would look at these matters from a political viewpoint. Core beliefs about when life begins and ends are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-thornberry/it-is-very-distressing-that-anyone-would-look-at-these-matters-from-a/) [Mac Thornberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-thornberry/) > [For more than two centuries since winning our own freedom, we the people of the United States have repeatedly answered the call to lead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-thornberry/for-more-than-two-centuries-since-winning-our-own-freedom-we-the/) [Mac Thornberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-thornberry/) > [In a budget this massive, there are certainly areas where I think we could do much better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-thornberry/in-a-budget-this-massive-there-are-certainly-areas-where-i-think-we/) [Mac Thornberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-thornberry/) > [I am particularly disturbed that our country is the largest financial supporter of an organization that not only wastes a lot of our money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-thornberry/i-am-particularly-disturbed-that-our-country-is-the-largest-financial/) [Mac Thornberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-thornberry/) > [In sum, we took energy for granted, assuming when we flipped the switch, the lights would go on and assuming that there would always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-thornberry/in-sum-we-took-energy-for-granted-assuming-when-we-flipped-the-switch/) [Mac Thornberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-thornberry/) > [If the men and women who protect the country are to succeed in the missions they are assigned, we simply must invest more in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-thornberry/if-the-men-and-women-who-protect-the-country-are-to-succeed-in-the/) [Mac Thornberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-thornberry/) > [Any president has to work with Congress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-thornberry/any-president-has-to-work-with-congress/) [Mac Thornberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-thornberry/) > [It would be better for the country if the Pentagon and the military do not shut down at any point because the threats to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-thornberry/it-would-be-better-for-the-country-if-the-pentagon-and-the-military/) [Mac Thornberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-thornberry/) > [Energy is necessary for economic growth, for a better quality of life, and for human progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-thornberry/energy-is-necessary-for-economic-growth-for-a-better-quality-of-life/) [Mac Thornberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-thornberry/) > [No other date on the calendar more potently symbolizes all that our nation stands for than the Fourth of July.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-thornberry/no-other-date-on-the-calendar-more-potently-symbolizes-all-that-our/) [Mac Thornberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-thornberry/) > [Even talking about change can be threatening to entrenched interests...Careers in the Pentagon, the board room, or the halls of Congress are not advanced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-thornberry/even-talking-about-change-can-be-threatening-to-entrenched-interests/) [Mac Thornberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-thornberry/) > [To protect America's security, we are going to have to pull America's military out of the swamp of Washington politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-thornberry/to-protect-america-s-security-we-are-going-to-have-to-pull-america-s/) [Mac Thornberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-thornberry/) > [Since World War II, the rules-based international order created and maintained by the United States has benefited peoples around the globe and none more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-thornberry/since-world-war-ii-the-rules-based-international-order-created-and/) [Mac Thornberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-thornberry/) > [We need a strong, vibrant economy to produce the tax revenue to fund our military.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-thornberry/we-need-a-strong-vibrant-economy-to-produce-the-tax-revenue-to-fund/) [Mac Thornberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-thornberry/) > [Mr. Speaker, I agree with those who say that the Global War on Terrorism is actually a Global War of Ideas and that terrorism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-thornberry/mr-speaker-i-agree-with-those-who-say-that-the-global-war-on/) [Mac Thornberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-thornberry/) [Explore all 38 Mac Thornberry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-thornberry/) ## More Alaska quotes > [She smiled with all the delight of a kid on Christmas morning and said, "Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die." -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/she-smiled-with-all-the-delight-of-a-kid-on-christmas-morning-and/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Grief is like an ocean. It comes in waves - some waves are bigger than others and you cannot prepare for it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/summer-lane/grief-is-like-an-ocean-it-comes-in-waves-some-waves-are-bigger-than/) [Summer Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/summer-lane/) > [There's no doubt 'normal' is changing - spring actually came a month early in Alaska, for example, and we had to stop filming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-rice/there-s-no-doubt-normal-is-changing-spring-actually-came-a-month/) [Travis Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-rice/) > [Kids in Alaska don't know they're growing up on the Last Frontier. It's just what they see on the license plates, and it's something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-bodett/kids-in-alaska-don-t-know-they-re-growing-up-on-the-last-frontier-it/) [Tom Bodett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-bodett/) > [What the hell is instant? Nothing is instant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/what-the-hell-is-instant-nothing-is-instant/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [They're our next-door neighbors, and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-palin/they-re-our-next-door-neighbors-and-you-can-actually-see-russia-from/) [Sarah Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-palin/) > [If the world were an orange with 18 segments meeting at the top (the North Pole), roughly 8 of them would be in Russia,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-shoumatoff/if-the-world-were-an-orange-with-18-segments-meeting-at-the-top-the/) [Alex Shoumatoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-shoumatoff/) > [And I just got the ghost, and I'm calling it Casper but that is so cold, it belong in Alaska.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicki-minaj/and-i-just-got-the-ghost-and-i-m-calling-it-casper-but-that-is-so/) [Nicki Minaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicki-minaj/) > [Like any traveler, I'm always looking for those experiences that are almost unique to any place, and watching films around Alaska of the skies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/like-any-traveler-i-m-always-looking-for-those-experiences-that-are/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [A changing environment will affect Alaska more than any other state, because of our location. I'm not one though who would attribute it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-palin/a-changing-environment-will-affect-alaska-more-than-any-other-state/) [Sarah Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-palin/) > [Mitt Romney understands the importance of Alaska as a leader in our country's energy production and I look forward to working with him on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-murkowski/mitt-romney-understands-the-importance-of-alaska-as-a-leader-in-our/) [Lisa Murkowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-murkowski/) > [Why would even I say we can't stop drilling in the Gulf? Because we have no alternatives. Whether or not we drill in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-safina/why-would-even-i-say-we-can-t-stop-drilling-in-the-gulf-because-we/) [Carl Safina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-safina/) > [On the lip of the Grand Canyon. I've always wanted to do that. My very first TV special out of the Olympics was on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-boitano/on-the-lip-of-the-grand-canyon-i-ve-always-wanted-to-do-that-my-very/) [Brian Boitano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-boitano/) > [“The canopy of trees overhead is so thick that only bits and pieces of blue sky can be seen overhead. Narrow rays of sunshine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanessa-g-foster/the-canopy-of-trees-overhead-is-so-thick-that-only-bits-and-pieces-of/) [Vanessa G. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanessa-g-foster/) > [Let's make a deal: You figure out what the labyrinth is and how to get out of it, and i'll get you laid. -Alaska…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/let-s-make-a-deal-you-figure-out-what-the-labyrinth-is-and-how-to-get/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) [Browse all 320 Alaska quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alaska/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We should start by allowing drilling in Alaska's National Wildlife Refuge. 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