Rethinking Manifest Destiny
Monday, October 8, is Columbus Day – a day that celebrates Columbus’ “discovery of the New World” in 1492. As this momentous event set off a wave of conquest, imperialism, cultural and environmental devastation, and empire building that continues today, this seems a good time to reflect on this tragic history, and discuss a better way forward for 21st century humanity. In today’s clamor to develop our final frontiers, such as the Arctic, the deep sea, and even outer space, it’s easy to hear echoes of voices from centuries past calling for the westward expansion of “civilization” as a…
Help! Help! We Can’t Find Sarah Palin!
Exxon has had some challenges in Alaska in the past. Remember that whole oil spill thing? Well, that was no walk in the park. Exxon and their legal help (including now-Governor Sean Parnell) had a devil of a time with those annoying fishermen. But finally, they ruled the day, and the Supreme Court whittled down the original $5 billion settlement to a mere $500 million owed to those whose livelihoods were damaged by the spill. And if more than 20 years of fighting feisty fishermen wasn’t enough, now they actually have to try to find all those people to whom…
Pebble Buys Signature Thugs (UPDATED)
*THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED WITH NEW INFORMATION. SEE BELOW! Ahhh. Take a nice deep sniff and enjoy the smell of desperation and deceit. It seems to be wafting over from the Pebble Parntnership. You see, when you’re a consortium of foreign mining companies with crappy track records and nobody likes you, or the idea of your giant open pit copper mine at the headwaters of the world’s largest wild salmon fishery in Bristol Bay, you start having to resort to all kinds of things. The latest bit of skulduggery they’ve pulled out of their hat is to activate their…
Chasing Ice
It’s always curious to hear protests from the Lower 48 insisting that climate change is a hoax, especially when one lives down the road from glaciers that aren’t—shall we say—what they used to be. I remember when I first moved to Alaska, back in 1991. One of my first “touristy” destinations was Portage Glacier. It’s just a quick drive down the Seward Highway from Anchorage. You could take a quick boat ride up to the face of the glacier, but I pulled up to the Begich-Boggs Visitors’ Center, got out of the car, and spent my time instead wandering the…
Paper or Plastic Politics?
There’s an exasperating question that’s been asked for years now, millions of times a day, all across the country. “Paper or plastic?” After doing our due diligence by reading labels, counting calories and fat grams, and rejecting high fructose corn syrup, we were presented with this new choice at the checkout. Do you want paper (kill a tree, high carbon footprint) OR plastic (made from petroleum, blows around and gets tangled in our scenery)? It’s a grocery-store Catch 22. They tried to make us feel better by putting circular green arrows on the bags, telling us the paper ones contained…
Alaska’s Relationship of Convenience with EPA
Ever had a boss so hard to read you didn’t know if you were going to be fired or promoted? Mixed messages on a daily basis? It’s horrible. How are you supposed know what to do? A relationship in which you don’t know if you’ll be hit or hugged is much worse. “Can’t you just be a jerk all the time? It would make things so much easier.” It’s the back and forth, the uncertainty that make these situations unbearable. That’s why I feel bad for the folks at the Environmental Protection Agency. Oh, before you start calling me a…
Foreign Interests Attack Alaska’s Voice
Here it comes. We knew it would happen. Because it always does. This time, the Alaska citizens’ initiative that’s in the cross-hairs of multinational corporations is the August 28th Ballot Prop #2, which would bring back Alaskans’ ability to have input into decisions made regarding management of our coastline. Local input. Kind of a no-brainer. Coastal Zone management worked fine for decades, but recently the Parnell administration and big moneyed interests let it go… Now, we have no say, even though we have more coastline than the rest of the nation combined. It’s all up to the feds. Makes no…
Pebble Mine and History
Butte, Montana has a couple of distinguishing claims to fame; one controversial, the other, not so much. What is controversial is that Butte boasts to being the headwaters of the Columbia River. The Canadians and Wikipedia would sharply disagree, but state and federal government and non-profit websites point to Silver Bow Creek in Butte as the headwaters to the Clark Fork River, a “major headwaters stream” of the Columbia River. Anyone who knows rivers knows that if you start with forks, you end up with the main body of the river sometime downhill. If you trace the Columbia River upstream from the Pacific Coast, you will…
Wasilla Candidate Says Some Children Not Worth Educating
There were some interesting revelations in a debate last week at the Greater Wasilla Chamber of Commerce candidates forum. The debate participants were the two Republicans who will square off in the August 28 primary for State House – Lynn Gattis and Mark Ewing. Democratic candidate Blake Merrifield, the only Democrat in the race, was not invited to this event. There seemed to be few surprises – both are in favor of the Knik Arm Bridge, both are in favor of Pebble Mine, but soon Mr. Ewing distinguished himself. After talking about cutting the operating budget, he cited education as…
Good Riddance Exxon Valdez
Some time this week, the ship formerly known as the Exxon Valdez (now the Oriental Nicety) will come to a controversial end. We would expect nothing less of the vessel, now known as the Oriental Nicety, that spilled in excess of 11 million gallons of oil into the formerly pristine waters of Alaska’s Prince William Sound. Its final resting place? As reported by Bloomberg News: …an oil-stained beach in Alang, India, where it’ll be recycled in the world’s largest and most notorious shipbreaking yard. The ship was sold for $16 million, and will be dismantled piece by piece. The ship is more than 70%…