april 2005 ned hettinger

8/14/2019 April 2005 Ned Hettinger

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April 2005

Ned Hettinger


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An EnergyCrisis?

The Bush Administrations EnergyStrategy Report stated: "America in theyear 2001 faces the most serious energyshortage since the oil embargoes of the1970's.

Gas prices today (April 05) at $2.50 American imports over half of its oil Drilling for oil in Alaskas Arctic National

Wildlife Refuge is supposed to be animportant part of nations response tothis crisis


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Questionsexplored

Is opening up the Arctic Refuge a step inthe right direction for U.S. energy policy,for the State of Alaska, and for the

human and nonhuman communitiesinvolved? What do Alaskans think about drilling

and why?

Can there be environmentally-friendlydrilling for oil in the Refuge? Are there better alternatives?


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Alaska is by farthe largest state

About 1/5 size of entire U.S. 375 million acres


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Alaskas WildBeauty

Alaskas size, remoteness,mountains, glaciers, and wildlifemake it our countrys wildernesstreasure


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Denali


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Portage Glacier


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Crow Pass andRaven Glacier


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History ofAlaskan land and

oil policy Alaska statehood in 1958 State received right to select 104

million acres States rights were contingent onsettling Natives land claims

AK Natives claimed virtually all of

AKs 375 million acres as their own


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Oil DiscoveryLed to Native

Settlement 1968 oil discovered at PrudhoeBay

State wanted to build an 800 milepipeline from Prudhoe Bay toValdez, bisecting the state

Native Alaskans land claims made

it impossible to get the neededrights of way


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Pict of AK


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Alaska Native ClaimsSettlement Act of1970

Natives got 44 million

acres (12%) of AK Included in ANCSA

was a provision towithdraw 80 millionacres for

conservation lands


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Battle Over AKPipeline

800 mile pipeline bisecting Americas lastgreat wilderness wasnt going to getbuild easily

Three env. groups (FOE, EDF, WS) and5 Native Alaska villages sued

In 1973, Congress resolved the suit bypassing AK pipeline authorization act

Senate vote was 49 to 49, Nixons V.P.Spiro Agnew casting the tie breakingvote


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Pipelinethrough AKrange


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a e verAlaskaConservationLands How much of Alaska would be set aside inconservation areas?

ANSCA deal was 80 million acres

Mo Udall (Pres. Carters Sec. of Interior)wanted 123 million acres with 60 million inwilderness

AK Senator Stevens wanted 60 million acreswith 12 million wilderness

Stalemate until Pres. Carter used AntiquitiesAct to set aside 154 million acres in NationalMonuments

AK went berserk


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1980Compromise

Passage of the Alaska National InterestsLands Conservation Act

President Carter signed just as he leftoffice.

104 million acres of new conservation landin AK with 50 million of that wilderness

This was a doubling of the total wildernessacreage in the U.S.

Carter has said this was the most importantconservation legislation of 20th century


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1989 Exxon

Valdez Oil Spill 11 million gallons 53rd biggest spill 11,000 miles of coastline oiled (470

direct miles; SC to DC) Devastated Prince William Sounds

wildlife and human communities Destroyed subsistence way of life of

local people? Huge wildlife losses (75% sea otters

killed; loons still not recovered) 20% of crude oil still was there 12 years

later


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Animals affectedby Exxon Valdez

Spill


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22,000 carcassesof common

murres found


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13,000 marbledmurrelets killed


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Valdez Terminal


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Kenai oil tankerin Valdez


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Columbia glaciericebergs


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Bligh Reef


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Pipeline Club

Will it happen again?


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Tanker tied totug

Hi t f A ti


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History of ArcticNational Wildlife

Refuge Pres. Eisenhowerin response to acampaign of Muries and Supreme CourtJustice William O Douglas set asideRefuge in 1960

19.8 million acres in north east AK,bordering Canada (slightly larger SC)

17.5 permanently off limits todevelopment (wilderness)

1.5 million acre coastal plain (1002 area)Congress can open for oil/gasdevelopment


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Special Place?

Defenders uniquegeography makes it awildlife/wildland treasure

Brooks Range swings towithin 40 miles of coast,range of arctic ecosystems

in a small area Interior Sec. Gale Norton

has called it a flat whitenothingness

A Godforsaken mosquito-infested swamp shrouded infrozen darkness year

U S Fi h d


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U.S. Fish andWildlife Service

says"The Arctic Refuge is among the mostcomplete, pristine, and undisturbedecosystems on earth. Here coastal

lagoons, barrier islands, arctictundra, foothills, mountains, andboreal forests provide a combinationof habitats, climate, and geographyunmatched by any other northern

conservation area


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"This unique compression ofhabitats concentrates theoccurrence of a wide variety of

wildlife and fish species.... Infact, according to FWS, theArctic Refuge coastal plaincontains the greatest wildlife

diversity of any protected

area above the Arctic Circle."


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Species inRefuge

The area's large mammals also includegrizzly bears, polar bears, Dall sheep,wolves, moose, and a herd of raremuskoxen. 135 species of birds are knownto use the 1002 area, including largeflocks of snow geese which feed on thearea's nutritious vegetation in the fall inpreparation for their long flight to theirwintering grounds in the Central Valley ofCalifornia. Other animal species of the

area include shorebirds, loons, songbirds,and raptors, as well as fish such as theArctic char and Arctic grayling.


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Caribou in Denali

A t


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Argumentsagainst ANWR

drilling 95% of Alaskas Arctic Coastalplain is already open to oil drilling

Prudhoe Bays poor env. record:400 oil spills a year since 1996 Large amounts of air pollutionOnly one EPA worker on North

Slope


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How much oil inANWR?

USGS 1998: 3.2 to 6.3 billionbarrels (7-13 month U.S. supply)

Proponents say 10-16 billionbarrels (2-3 year supply)

USGS says 5% chance of 16billion

C ti /Eff


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Conservation/Efficiency

Alternative Enhancing energy efficiency in

buildings and industry could easilysave us as much oil


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V.P. Dick Cheney

Conservation may be a sign of

personal virtue, but it is not asufficient basis for a sound,comprehensive energy policy.

Chene on


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Cheney onConservation

(continued) To think that we could simplyconserve or ration our way out of theenergy crisis is 1970's era thinking.

Supports energy efficiency only whenit does not reduce living standards ornegatively impact U.S. industry.

Opposes any energy conservationmeasures based on the idea that

Americans now live too well or thatpeople should do more with less.

ue


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ueEconomyStandards(CAF)

Adopted in 1975, average rose from 14 to27mpg by mid 80s

No significance increases in CAF since Because of the popularity of SUVs (only

required to average 20.7 mpg vs 27.5 forcars), in 2002 average U.S. fuel economy fellto its lowest level since 1980

China has proposed more stringent rules Raising CAF from 27 to 40 mpg would save

a billion barrels a year

an ere e


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an ere eEnv. FriendlyDrilling inANWR?

New drilling technologies castdoubt on the claim that ANWR willbe as devastated as Prudhoe Bay

Not clear that the Prudhoe Bay

oilfields a disaster for wildlife


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New DrillingTechnology

Small well pads with drills branching out 4-5 milesunderground

2000 acres of total disturbance out of 1.5 millionacres?

Drilling mud, contaminated water, spilled oil, anddiscarded chemicals formerly put in waste pits canbe ground into a slurry and pumped underground

Gravel roads (mined from river beds) spread allover fragile tundra can now be built from ice thatmelts in spring

The maze of oil collecting pipelines can be raisedfor animals to duck under and elevated elbowslessen effects of spills


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Oil Pad


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IceRoad


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Caribou underpipeline


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Bear on Pipeline


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New SurveyTechniques

The success rate raised from 1producing well for each 10exploratory wells to 5 in 10.

Dynamite no longer used, butvibrating 10-ton thumper truckscrisscross tundra in an intensiveway leaving scars disrupting

wildlife 2000 acre figure doesnt include

this


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Thumper Truck

Damage from


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Damage fromThumper Truck

(in Utah)

1984 track from


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1984 track fromseismic

exploration

Same track in


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Same track in1999 (15 years

later)


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Critics ArentImpressed

Once the work shifts fromexploration to extraction of oil, theresult is always a sprawl of

pipelines, roads, crew quarters,and fuel depots: In the end, evenwith all this technology, youve gota massive industrial complex.


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Alaskas OilAddiction

78% of state budget is funded by NorthSlope oil revenue

Alaskans pay no state income or salestaxes

Each Alaskan receives yearly check fromstate oil revenues; Typically it is $1000 to$2,000.

Oil from Prudhoe Bay is running out(From 19 billion barrels to 6.4 now);

Pipeline flow down 50%. No wonder 75% of Alaskans supportdrilling in the arctic.


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Nativesperspective

Inupiat Eskimos who live in ANWR nextto 1002 support it; 78% in Kaktovik

Own oil/gas rights in ANWR which cant

be leased unless ANWR opened up Do not live a subsistence lifestyle but are

part of the modern cash economy One of the USs wealthiest Native groups

Oppose offshore oil development fearingit would harm bowhead whale huntimportant to their cultural identity

i ki


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Inupiat Eskimosof Kaktovic

G i h i di


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Gwichin Indiansoppose

Fear it will harm Porcupine Caribou herd Dont live in ANWR but hunt caribou that

migrate there.

Live (mostly) a subsistence lifestyle;Caribou meat 80% of tribal diet

Ethic of hunters sharing caribou meatessential to their culture

1002: Sacred birthing ground of caribouand ultimately of Gwichin people

G i hi


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GwichinIndians

Effects on


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Effects onPorcupine

Caribou herd? 150,000 animals migrate to coastal plainin summer for foraging, protection frompredators and insect, and to calve

Canadian estimate: Drilling could cause40% decline in birthrate Central Artic herd near Prudhoe bay:

Thriving (oil industry) or calving near

Prudhoe Bay nearly ceased(Canadians) Porcupine herd has no where to move

C ib d Oil


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Caribou and OilRig

One study: Wildlife adapted wellto oil drilling.

T t ti


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Tentativeconclusions

Should not risk cultural genocide

Even environmentally-friendly oildevelopment would ruin the ArcticRefuges pristine character

Should not risk


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Should not riskcultural

genocide Gwichin spokesperson Faith Gemmil:Dont sacrifice our way of life for shortterm economic gain.

Some impact on Porcupine Herd likely;but probably not enough to underminethe Gwichin subsistence hunt and wayof life

But even a tiny chance of causing

cultural genocide should prevent drilling Especially given our the history of ourtreatment of Natives Americans

eve opmenld i th


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eve opmenwould ruin theArctic Refuges

pristine nature A significant part of the value of this

place is that it is untouched by modern

human industrial desire The pristine, virginal character of places

like the Arctic Refuge are necessarilyspoiled even by environmentally careful

petro development Temporary McDonalds in Louvre? Sexual assault while sedated?

Current politics


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Current politicsof ANWR (April

2005) On March 18, Senate voted 51-49 to includerevenue from drilling in the Refuge in the federalbudget

This means that opponents of drilling cannot usea filibuster to block oil development in the Refuge A filibuster can only be broken by 60 votes,something drilling proponents dont have

Last year a federal budget was not passed, andso drilling opponents have some hope this willoccur again

They also hope that the drilling provision will be

taken out of the budget in future votes


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april 2005 ned hettinger

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