Alaska the Beautiful, What a Terrible Thing to Waste

Alaska IS beautiful. Why risk spoiling it by drilling for oil when it is neither a short term nor long term solution to our nation's energy crisis?
Bretwood Higman and Erin McKittrick recently completed a 4000 mile, year-long expedition by foot along the Pacific Coast from Seattle to Alaska's Aleutian chain to explore environmental issues. They were alternately immersed in wilderness and local culture. They were able to see oil drilling issues up close and speak to those affected by future decisions face to face. Hig is a native Alaskan with a PhD in geology, Erin has a Masters in Biology. The two share their unique perspectives on oil drilling in Alaska during a phone interview from Unimak Island.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• commentary
• analysis
• news
• peak
• oil
• palin
• alaska
• energy
• crisis
• drilling
• wilderness
• sustainable
• carbon
• debt
• packraft

[LastReplaySC]

Alaska would only fill the up the global oil reserves for 47 days, don't believe the 40+ years myth, because all those calculations never include a demand growth rate and the declining extraction rate. most oil fields are 1/3 full but they cant extract the stuff as cheaply or with the technology installed

[Lurple]

Automobiles are not the only reasons we use oil. Look around your house. Until we are ready to completely change EVERYTHING about how we live, oil will be a necessity. Oil & petro products are integral to everything we do and use every day.

Asking people to die securing oil reserves in unfriendly countries while we have it here at home disgusts me. Yes we need wind, solar, hydro, etc IMMEDIATELY. But to say we can never drill here, we'll just get it elsewhere even if some will die 4 it? Sick.

[Teratornis]

I agree that Alaska is beautiful, but realistically, how can we expect Americans to leave any recoverable oil in the ground as long as the vast majority of Americans remain completely addicted to automobiles? Gasoline is the opiate of the people, and as long as that remains true, we can probably kiss Alaska and everywhere else with oil goodbye. Every time people get in their cars they are voting with their actions to drill everywhere.