The NPR-A was established when United State's naval ships were moving from coal to oil as a source of propulsion. It was not set aside for environmental protection. When established, the extraction of oil in wartime was the only purpose of the NPR-A.  Nevertheless, environmentalists have sought to embrace the NPR-A for environmental anti-development purposes.  With the glut of oil production in the world today, and the rise of nuclear propulsion, there is little likelihood that the NPR-A's oil has significance for national defense.  All the more reason for development of the NPR-A for resource extraction and other purposes.