Pat's Research Paper Topic

I would like to write my research paper about drilling for oil in ANWR and offshore drilling. Would opening up these oil rich areas help America to become energy independent? Would drilling in these areas just be a temporary fix or would they permanently help the country? I would examine the effects, both positive and negative, that drilling for oil or not drilling for oil would have on the country. Becoming energy independent is a goal that seems to be talked about, but never really closely examined. Another area that I would research would be the effect that drilling in these areas would have upon the environment. Would the potential damage to the environment be worth the oil that we are able to extract from these areas?