The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is going to move back into the crosshairs of America\u2019s energy politics. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who will continue to chair the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, says she plans to make an early push to open it up to oil and gas exploration.<\/p>\n
On the surface, that might seem easy with Donald Trump in the White House and Republicans in control of both chambers of Congress. But it won\u2019t be unless all sides, including the indigenous people who live adjacent to the refuge, are open to compromise,<\/p>\n
Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, is planning to sponsor a companion bill to Murkowski\u2019s on the House side. He\u2019s done it many times before. As if it\u2019s his greatest accomplishment, he never fails to remind people how one of them passed Congress. It happened in 1995 right after Republicans captured both chambers of Congress for the first time since Dwight Eisenhower was President. The bill was later vetoed by President Bill Clinton.<\/p>\n
The last time the House passed a bill to open ANWR was 2005 while George W. Bush occupied the White House and Republicans controlled both houses. A filibuster by senate Democrats still killed it.<\/p>\n
These brief narratives make the Democrats sound like obstructionists. If they filibuster again to keep the lid on ANWR\u2019\u2019s oil, it\u2019ll also be payback for the six years Republicans blocked almost every initiative and nomination put forth by President Obama. At least in the short term Democrats will be buoyed by the fact that Hillary Clinton bested Trump by more than a million votes.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not in favor of drilling, but as we saw from the election, perception matters more in the voting booth than science and facts. Since ANWR has always been a winner-take-all sweepstakes, if it happens now, I\u2019m worried about environmental-conscious concessions.<\/p>\n
One such proposal that might have been environmentally beneficial was put forth by Congressman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., in 2005. In exchange for opening part of the refuge, he wanted to use the estimated $40 billion in federal leasing revenue and royalties to fund renewable energy programs. Had that happened, it might have gone a long way to giving us new technologies to slow down and mitigate the effects of climate change.<\/p>\n
However, a compromise like that must also satisfy the Gwich\u2019in people. Their ancestral home extends from the inland area adjacent to ANWR all the way into Canada\u2019s Northwest Territories. They oppose developing ANWR because it\u2019s the calving grounds of the Porcupine herd which they\u2019re heavily dependent on for subsistence. The Gwich\u2019in fear the network of drill rigs, pipelines and related infrastructure will disrupt the herd so much that it\u2019ll destroy their way of life.<\/p>\n
The other side of refuge is home to the Inupiat communities in the North Slope Borough. They support oil development in ANWR and offshore mostly because it\u2019s funded local government and given them modern schools, hospitals, roads and utilities.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can be pro-development and pro-environment,\u201d says North Slope mayor Harry K. Brower Jr. \u201cThe key will always be finding the proper balance.\u201d That means mitigating the impacts on the land and wildlife that\u2019s a critical part of their traditional subsistence lifestyle.<\/p>\n
The disagreements between the Gwich\u2019in and Inupiat reveal some interesting role reversals from the usual liberal\/conservative debate.<\/p>\n
On the one hand, the Gwich\u2019in are anti-developers benefiting from the power of the environmental lobby. But defending their ancestral traditions is more truly a conservative value.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Inupiat are pro-oil folks who detest the outside influence from environmentalists. That may endear them with conservatives in Congress. But if it was Democrats seeking to collect taxes for infrastructure, schools and health care facilities, Republicans would call it a socialist attempt at wealth redistribution.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s usually Republicans who advocate for local control over government directives. So shouldn\u2019t they let Inupiats and Gwich\u2019in decide the fate of ANWR? If they did, could either sway the other to change their position? Is it conceivable they could reach a compromise that allows some oil development to proceed? How would such a decision be treated by the politicians, lobbyists and the general populace on the outside?<\/p>\n
None of that matters though, because empowering locals to control their destiny is only a Republican philosophy if the likely outcome suits their national agenda. So, I\u2019m afraid, they\u2019ll try to open ANWR with no strings attached \u2014 and I\u2019m hoping the Democrats will shut the door with another Senate filibuster.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Rich Moniak is a Juneau resident and retired civil engineer with more than 25 years of experience working in the public sector.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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