Earth’s Changing EnvironmentLecture 10

North Slope Oil

                                       

                                    

Purposes of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Created in1960 and enlarged in 1980. Managed by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (Department of the Interior)

to conserve fish and wildlife populations and habitats in their natural diversity.

to provide the opportunity for continued subsistence uses by local residents.

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

19.8 million acres 9.0 million acre

wilderness area 1.5 million acre

coastal plain (1002 area) is location of oil.

                                       

                                    

                                       

                                    

Present and Potential Drill Sites on the North Slope of Alaska

                                       

                                    

Oil Development on Alaska's Arctic Slope

Prudhoe Bay, the center of oil activity on the North Slope

Since production began in 1977, Alaskan oil has provided 20 to 25 percent of the country’s total supply.

looks like more than 12 billion barrels will be recovered before the wells are shut down,

                                       

                                    

Trans-Alaska Pipeline

800 miles 4 ft diameter $8 Billion Complete in

1977

                                       

                                    

Oil Development in ANWR: Ecological Impacts

Concentrated in the refuge’s most critical and sensitive areas such as calving grounds for the Porcupine caribou herd and denning areas for one of America’s two polar bear populations.

                                       

                                    

Caribou Herd

A small group of the 130,000 Porcupine caribou herd moves across the tundra in the annual spring migration. Most cows give birth on the coastal plain, where food is plentiful and predators few.

                                       

                                    

Caribou Calving Locations (1983 - 2001)

Polar Bears

The 1.5 million-acre coastal plain, where the oil is thought to be located, is also prime habitat for Beaufort Sea polar bears.

                                       

                                    

Oil Development in ANWR: Ecological Impacts

Oil and other chemical spills accumulate in areas such as air holes used by seals and other marine mammals

Migrating bird species visit the refuge in anticipation of a short, uninterrupted burst of food resources to feed themselves and develop their young prior to migration, disturbances of any duration could have population-wide impacts.

Oil Development in ANWR: Ecological Impacts

The coastal plain is the biological heart of a huge arctic/subarctic ecosystem, harm to wildlife there would be expected to reverberate throughout the ecosystem.

                                       

                                    

Local Residents - Inland

Fifteen villages and small towns scattered across northeast Alaska and northwest Canada are the home of approximately 7,000 Gwich'in - the most northernly location of all Indian nations.

Generally opposed oil development because of potential effects on caribou.

                                       

                                    

Local Residents - Coastal

Most residents in the tiny Inupiat village of Kaktovik, the only community within the refuge, support energy exploration.

For the native people of Kaktovik, there are scant work opportunities. Oil exploration would bring badly needed income, jobs, and social services

Offshore Oil Development

The Alaska Department of Natural Resources is considering allowing offshore oil and gas development adjacent to ANWR.

The Inupiat people from Kaktovik are opposed to off-shore drilling.

                                       

                                    

Sustainable Development

Would oil development lead to sustainable use of this region for local people and for others or would short term gains for a few damage the long-term economic viability of the region?