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