drilling archives - planet forward - 克罗地亚vs加拿大让球

the many lives of the arctic national wildlife refuge

thu, 01 nov 2018 17:15:18 +0000

the arctic national wildlife refuge comprises more than 19 million acres of land in northeastern alaska. the debate over oil extraction in anwr has flared for over 40 years, but development was finally authorized in 2017 with the tax cuts and jobs act. advocates argue that oil development would bring much needed revenue and jobs to the area, while others are concerned about the impacts on the landscape and vast amount of wildlife that call anwr home.

this summer, i traveled to the arctic national wildlife refuge to take photographs and learn more about the complex issues at hand. please have a look at my story:

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mn2020: policy attacks on minnesota waterways

sat, 04 aug 2012 07:00:52 +0000

recent federal policy proposals could seriously impact wildness areas around the nation, including minnesota’s boundary waters canoe area wilderness.
environment minnesota has released a new report detailing impacts that could result from expanding development and mining projects in the name of short-term job creation, all while bypassing critical natural protection policy in place.
it’s time creating jobs by prioritizing the sustainabile energy economy instead of slashing environmental protections for short-term gains.

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after 22 years, oil from the exxon valdez disaster still found in prince william sound, alaska

thu, 21 jul 2011 09:00:34 +0000

many years have passed since anyone has hauled in a herring catch to the small alaskan town of cordova. situated 160 miles east of anchorage on the eastern end of prince william sound.

r. j. kopchak was formerly the part owner of a fisherman’s co-op, which was experiencing great success in the late 1980s. “the value of permits was up, the value of the salmon was way up, and we were all making $80,000 to $100,000 per year. [we were] working hard, but there we went,” says kopchak.

the fishing industry in alaska continued to experience great success until march 24, 1989, the date of the infamous exxon valdez oil spill disaster. when the exxon valdez ran aground, the resulting oil spill covered 1,300 miles of coastline and 11,000 square miles of ocean water. it was the worst environmental disaster in u.s. history at that point in time. countless numbers of animals and birds were killed from exposure to the toxic oil, and many fish populations were severely impacted, including herring, which was the foundation of the fishing economy. kopchak estimates that the disaster cost him over half a million dollars.

today, kopchak works for the non-profit prince william sound science center, which studies the sound’s ecosystem and includes efforts to restore the herring population. while some fish and animal populations have recovered following the oil spill, much of the oil from the disaster was never recovered and can still be found in virtually every protected cove and beach along prince william sound.

just a 30-minute float plane ride from cordova is a marshy spot called knight island that was hit hard by the exxon valdez oil spill. one particular spot, called the death marsh because of the severity of the oil exposure, was completely saturated with oil, and to this date you can see that under the sand and dirt a hard layer of oil still exists.

nobody knows exactly what risk the oil poses. it will be around for a very long time. “it’s just tragic,” says kopchak.

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