As Alaska Melts, All Gubernatorial Candidates - All Of Them - Want To Keep On Drilling For Oil

[hatrack]

EDIT

“It’s almost schizophrenic,” said Beth Kerttula, a Democratic former state legislator who later served as director of the National Oceans Council under President Obama. “You can see climate change immediately. ... At the same time, we have the oil industry in particular wanting to open the [Arctic National Wildlife Refuge] and bringing in more development. I think that has affected our politics in ways that are just very profound.”

None of the candidates running to be Alaska’s governor opposes oil drilling in the Arctic. To the left of Walker, Mark Begich, a former Democratic senator who jumped into the race in the eleventh hour, said his position to support oil drilling has stayed the same, adding that some environmentally sensitive places like Bristol Bay should be off-limits. On the right, Mike Dunleavy and Mead Treadwell—Republicans who will face off during next month’s primary election—have ardently supported more drilling while at times questioning human’s role in global warming.

Faced with salient examples of climate change, Walker convened a task force last year that holds regular meetings throughout the state to gather evidence. It released a draft report in April proposing climate policies, which emphasize adapting to a warming planet over mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. The task force appears to be a reincarnation of efforts launched by former Alaska Republican Gov. Sarah Palin in 2007, a year before she disavowed human-caused climate change on the presidential campaign trail. Climate hawks lament that in the decade since, actual implementation of climate policies has stalled.

In fact, the politically irreconcilable climate perspectives are even spelled out in the task force’s draft report: “The state economy is dependent on natural resource development, including oil and natural gas production,” the draft report states. “While these resources are finite and contribute to global greenhouse gas emissions, which are a root cause of climate change, they also support essential government services and as such our ability to adapt and respond.” But beyond oil, there is not much else in Alaska to generate revenue; state lawmakers have blocked a sales tax and income tax.

Ed. Because of course they have . . .

EDIT

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/alaska-wants-to-fight-warming-while-still-drilling-for-oil/

[Mickju]

1. Suicidal