By
Jessica Lee
Alaska: the state we sometimes forget about until the oil developers remind us. The far north chunk of land was purchased from the Russians and has since become the last great American beyond, the ultimate untouched region.
Yet, as Americans are on the horizon of another energy crisis, the only thing we can say is "Here we go again." Economically driven politicians and CEOs are lining up at the starting line, ready to race across the pristine landscape as soon as Dubya and Gale Norton give the okay.
We shouldn't be surprised. The Department of the Interior has already opened the door into the most primitive places in the lower 48 states. Been there and destroyed that. Just as our ancestors moved West, our financial fellows are ready to stake their claim in the Last Frontier.
The hot spot for debate is of course the drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) - an arctic utopia of wildlife and majestic mountains. Scientists have reported that the refuge is one of the most complete and undisturbed ecosystems around.
While Democrats would rather reduce consumption, Republicans are gung-ho about tapping into the terrain of coastal lagoons, arctic tundra, barrier islands and boreal forests.
Yee-haw?
The twist to all of this is that among all the groups fighting to protect the ANWR, there are very few from Alaska. Nick Jans, an Alaskan outdoor writer, commented recently, "Alaska's half-million citizens as a whole are among the least conservation-minded folds in the entire nation." Jans columns are a "call for Americans outside Alaska to protect Alaskans from themselves and prevent oil development in the ANWR."
This is not a joke.
UA elementary education sophomore Jason Aillaud could not agree more. Aillaud, who is native to Alaska, admits that the majority of Alaska residents are right-wing conservatives who support Bush's call for domestic economical security.
Oil - it is what makes their world go 'round.
Without the oil business, Alaska would be compared to a third-world country. With increasing oil prices, the state anticipates earning $2.01 billion in the 2001 fiscal year. In fact, the state makes so much money from sucking the ground for crude oil that Alaskans pay no state taxes. Even still, there is a surplus of bucks. So much that each Alaskan resident is paid to live in the state. Jason Aillaud received $2,000 last year.
What state resident wouldn't want that?
Alaskans are blinded by the glare of a black-gold glacier. Jans, dubbed as the only conservationist in the state, is trying to pump up the nature freaks in the lower 48 states to help out.
He wrote, "It's more politically palatable to rally the American public to blame the desire to drill on greedy Alaskans and greedy oil companies who want to 'destroy' the environment, rather than blame the American public for burning it."
So, what can we do? If it isn't the Alaskan population swaying us to save the arctic refuge, then who is?
It is all of us. It is the tint of environmental morality that has been intertwined into our national genome.
It comes down to this. If the American people allow experimental drilling in the pristine ANWR, then who will draw the line? By allowing slick Gale Norton to give away our last wilderness to the oil companies, it could set a precedent for permitting more industry into our natural heirlooms. It could pave the path for businesses to enter the protected forests and corporations to enter the national parks.
Trees could then be cut in western Washington. Grasslands might be grazed in southern Utah. And in Arizona, the miners would go bananas.
Us lower-48 (hop right in Hawaii) Americans need to take action. Before you jump up and chain yourself to a caribou, stop to think about it. The most effective way we can protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and our national eco-treasures is to play hardball with the oil company's bank accounts.
They won't stop producing oil until we stop consuming it.
