Bo Boudart and Dale Djerassi are the directors behind Oil On Ice, a recent documentary narrated by Peter Coyote that explores the perils drilling for oil in the 19 million acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

For those not already in the know on this rather heated topic, the current administration has been trying to get the Republican controlled congress to okay the ANWR for exploration and development of the oil reserves that lay underneath it. This was attempted once before back in 1990 when Bush Sr. was in the Whitehouse, despite the fact that Eisenhower closed the refuge to industry when was in power save for one small area that can be explored pending congressional authorization.

Studies show that roughly 3.2 billion barrels of oil lay in the area, making it the last true oil reserve left in the state. But the problem lies in the fact that so much damage has already been done to the unique environment in the area that further drilling would only go on to compound the damage even more. This leads to the debate over whether or not the economical boon that drilling would provide is substantial enough to warrant risking further evironmental damage or not. The current administration obviously believes that is, these filmmaker, Alaskan natives, obviously do not.

In addition to showing us just how many species of plants an animals are native to the area, the film also gives us a good look at the sheer raw beauty of Alaska by showcasing the open plains, the scenic hills, and the glacial areas as well. Plenty of bears, caribou, and birds who call this area home would be affected by further drilling, and while it may sound like no big deal to some , actually seeing the effects it has had so far does drive the nail home a little bit harder than just reading about in the local newspaper or hearing about the debates on the nightly newscast on your television.

Rather than simply slam the President and his cabinet however, the film looks at alternatives to drilling in the refuge – fuel conservation and more efficient ways to use gas and oil are discussed in quite a bit of detail. The film also makes the point that although 3.2 billion barrels of oil may sound like a whole lot of fuel, it would realistically only keep America afloat for two hundred days or so at the current rate at which the population consumes gasoline and oil products. To make matters even more suspicious, there isn't even current legislation dictating that the oil taken from the reserves would have to be used within America, meaning that the oil companies would be able to ravage a protected area and turn around and sell the fruits of their labor on the open market.

Video:

The film was shot on digital video and also on film, and the 1.33.1 fullframe image is presented in its original aspect ratio. Colors are a slight bit overcooked and there is some shimmering in the lighter scenes but the image, for the most part at least, is free of print damage and compression artifacts, through present, are mild. Overall, for a very low budget independently produced political/environmental documentary, Oil On Ice looks decent enough.