Clash in values over wilderness and oil in Alaska

Journal Article · · Forum for Applied Research and Public Policy; (United States)

OSTI ID:6690514

Miner, T ^[1]

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1. Univ. of Alaska, Anchorage, AK (United States)

The debate over whether or not to open Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil development is [open quotes]a battle between economic and wilderness values,[close quotes] contends Todd Miner, assistant professor and coordinator of Alaska Wilderness Studies at the University of Alaska in Anchorage. Established in northwest Alaska in 1960 to protect an undisturbed tract of arctic environment, ANWR is roughly the size of South Carolina and richly endowed with both wildlife and oil. Those who favor oil exploration - including the majority of Alaskans - maintain that it can be conducted in environmentally sound ways, that it will provide 750,000 jobs, and that ANWR's oil reserves might help bolster US energy independence by reducing reliance on foreign sources. Those opposed, Miner reports, including most national environmental groups, [open quotes]fear that oil exploration...might destroy some or all of the area's resources[close quotes] and disrupt animal populations. Development opponents also point on the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill as proof that environmental accidents are inevitable once people begin prospecting for oil in natural areas. Though in November 1991, the US Senate killed a bill that would have opened ANWR to oil exploration, the battle is far from over. [open quotes]Two opposing ways of life, one focused on economic well-being and the other focused on the value of undisturbed natural places, will clash again and again,[close quotes] Miner concludes.

• OSTI ID: 6690514
• Journal Information: Forum for Applied Research and Public Policy; (United States), Journal Name: Forum for Applied Research and Public Policy; (United States) Vol. 9:4; ISSN FARPEL; ISSN 0887-8218
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020700* -- Petroleum-- Economics
Industrial
& Business Aspects
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290200 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Economics & Sociology
ALASKA
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
ENERGY SOURCE DEVELOPMENT
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS
MINERAL RESOURCES
NATURE RESERVES
NORTH AMERICA
OIL FIELDS
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
RESOURCES
SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS
USA