Word: alaskans
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Legislators and regulators are asking tough questions: Should oil exploration in Alaska be drastically curtailed, or even stopped? Should larger areas of the state be put under federal protection from development? If the U.S. holds back the pumping of Alaskan oil, how will the country satisfy its hunger for energy...
...long history of invasions has transformed the population. In 1880 there were only about 33,500 people in Alaska, 99% of them natives. But by 1959, when the territory became a state, the population had increased nearly sevenfold, and the typical Alaskan was no longer an Indian fisherman or an Inupiat hunter but a white storekeeper, bush pilot or construction worker. Today nonnatives account for 84% of the state's 530,000 people...
...they are eager to drill there. President Bush and the U.S. Interior Department favor opening up the area to exploration and development. Unlike Bristol Bay, where powerful fishing interests have always fought drilling, the land adjacent to this preserve is home only to a handful of Inupiat. Alaskan politicians thus have had little to lose and much to gain by pushing for exploration -- even the usually pro-environment Governor Cowper, who favors the plan...
...primary argument in favor of proceeding apace with Alaskan development is that the U.S. desperately needs energy. "Prohibiting development of ANWR will not eliminate the risk of future spills," says the American Petroleum Institute. "It will only ensure that the country is deprived of a potentially large source of petroleum vital to its economy and its energy security." That same argument was used by President Bush in his budget message to Congress...
Bush's reaction to the catastrophic Alaskan oil spill two weeks ago is a prime example. After the spill, the White House expressed some sympathy, but seemed unwilling to act in any manner. Instead of offering federal assistance, or even using the spill as a chance to speak out on a disturbing ecological issue, Bush decided to let Exxon handle the cleanup and said nothing more...