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The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Protected … but
… there are oil reserves there …
And the Prudhoe Bay oilfield is nearly exhausted.
The debate is about the environment (conservation)
Compared with the economy (exploitation)
About local , national and even global interests
‘But … You can’t eat the scenery’
The Arctic Tundra is a treeless plain by the Beaufort Sea
Here you can see patterned ground made by the seasonal melting of the upper ground.
“Depending on whom you listen to, ANWR’s coastal plain is either a bleak, buggy land of misery deserving no special protection or a precious piece of America’s natural history.”—James Balog
Is this place really so special?
Outdoor enthusiasts think it is …
and are against drilling for oil
Like Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay (pictured above), ANWR may soon bear the scars of modern oil extraction.
In summer the hollows fill with midge infested swamps.
The oil companies love photos like this - some environmentalists had feared that the pipeline would disrupt normal wildlife migrations. It turns out, however, that not only does the pipeline not bother the local wildlife, but some of the critters like to scratch their backs on the supports.
Do the nature lovers overstate the threats to the environment?
Polar bears, the largest bear and terrestrial predator, find prime habitat in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
There are risks to
endangered species if drilling is allowed…
Shouldn’t we cut back on fossil fuels anyway …
to slow Global
Warming?
The Inupiat of Kaktovik, Alaska
The village of Kaktovik in 1995
What local people are affected?
Tool for survival: Kaktovik whaling captain Charlie Brower displays the harpoon he uses when his village goes after its quota of three bowhead whales in the fall (Autumn).
Kaktovik is next to the Beaufort Sea and within the northern boundaries of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
They tend to support the
development – they want the
money from the oil companies
Adeline Raboff, is a member of the Gwich’in tribe
The Gwich’in Tribe live inland
They are Caribou hunters
Some of their land is Taiiga – forested with pine conifers
Arctic Village home of the Gwich’in Native Americans
The Gwich’in have the inherent right to continue our own way of life; and this right is recognized and affirmed by civilized nations in the international covenants on human rights.
The Gwich’in object to the proposed oil development because the
fear the caribou will be
disturbed
Back in mainland USA
Some ‘right wingers’ back their government
And the oil industry
And the troops in Iraq
And hate the other protesters who try to stop ant ‘progress’.
Environmentalists also campaign in Washington DC
The gist of the sales pitch was "we haven't spilled much oil up here, we haven't spilled much along the pipeline, the Exxon Valdez was someone else's fault ...
oh, and we're starting to run out of oil up here, so could we please please PRETTY please be allowed to start exploration in the wildlife refuge next
The Oil Industry has been ‘persuading
people’ for years to try to get permission to
drill in ANWR
A Website in favour! www.anwr.org/index.html
A website against http://www.savearcticrefuge.org/
A neutral view http://arcticcircle.uconn.edu/ANWR/
How are you affected?
Your task Agent … since you are forced to accept it … is to:
• produce a report on ANWR called “To Drill or Not To Drill”
• use any medium – writing, poster, PowerPoint, movie etc.
• use the 6 headings in the iDG as your guide or writing frame
• You have TWO weeks of homework for this task. “… To get you to do your
homework .. That’s M.I.4!!”
GeogOnline Briefing Over