Alaska and Environment

It has been a long time since I promised you this article. This humble analysis is written after what I experienced in Alaska. And I will do my best not to be too technical, neither simplistic.

Environment. Broad issue. What are we talking about exactly? Let's start with nature. Alaska is a vast land (three times larger than France) with little population: about 720,000 inhabitants (a bit more than Luxembourg). So, as I would say in French, you are in the middle of nowhere once you quit a city. This “nowhere” is actually nature, just nature. Weather and geographical conditions reinforce the feeling of being on the edge of the world, specially when it is very dark because of weather or low sunlight. Alaska has everything you could find on Earth: mountains, volcanos, miles and miles of coast (even more than those of the other 49 US States together), forests, plains, rivers, fjords, tundra. Only beaches with coconut trees are missing.

Facing this immensity, one can only feel very small. Like in Lapland (Northern Scandinavia), you can only be in close interaction with nature and respectful of it. Although, it is not always the case here. It might be because we are in the US. And in the US, economy seems to be the most important. Because the US and Alaska are also lands of freedom: “I can do whatever I want”. And then because you could hear here and there: “After all, Alaska is gigantic, it's not a be deal if some spots are polluted by an oil well or a power plant running with coal. It won't change the face of the world!”. Actually, it does. At least, it contributes.

Very few seem to be aware of the figures revealing that Alaska is one of the most impacted regions of the world, when it comes to climate change and its consequences. It is said that Alaska is warming up 4 times faster than the rest of the world. In 50 years, annual temperature average increased by 2°C (4°F), whereas the rest of the world warmed up by 0,5°C (1°F). The NASA confirmed it in a recent report.

When we speak about global warming, that also means icecap melting. Usually, regardless of the season, the Arctic Ocean is totally or partially frozen. But it is foreseen that, from 2013, the Arctic could be freed from ice in summer. Icecap melting combined with other factors is leading to the elevation of the sea level. This can be dramatic as we know that a vast majority of Alaskans live on the coast.

Furthermore, in some regions, permafrost is melting. Permafrost correspond to frozen ground and underground regardless of the season. Man can find permafrost in Alaska, as well as Siberia or Northern Canada. If it melts, the direct consequence is the collapse of human structures located on it (buildings, roads, buried pipes, etc.). In addition to that, permafrost melting releases a hugh quantity of methane (CH₄) which is, to keep it short, a gas that is 23 times more dangerous than CO₂ in terms of greenhouse effect. Undersea permafrost is also melting. Release of methane acidifies even more the oceans, which make them more toxic for fish, sea mammals, or whatever lives under sea level.

Not very joyful! Indeed. Sorry, but this is reality. From what I could hear from the different people I talked to, what is even sadder is that very few feel concerned by those problems. There are environmentalist organisations (such as WWF or Greenpeace). But most of them work on wildlife protection. Very few work on the problem as a whole. And in front of oil lobby, they do not carry great weight. Unfortunately, I couldn't meet any of them, so I can't say more.

Situation is not desperate though. One can hope coming back to some great old times (like in the 1960's or 1970's) when environmental protection was ensured by important laws. It was also the time when a lot of national parks and preserves, wildlife reserves, etc. were created. Those public lands are managed at either federal or local level (State, county/borough, municipality). Their missions vary from protection of wildlife to management of land. Human activities are usually forbidden, or at least restricted and controlled. That is how some regions cannot be drilled for oil extraction in the North. The question still remains: how long is this going to last in front of oil lobby?

Then Alaska also has at its disposal plenty of renewal resources that could be used once the nothing-but-oil paradigm is abandoned. In the Southern and South-Western volcanic regions, geothermal energy can be used to heat houses or even produce electricity. Along the coasts, and particularly along the Aleutian islands in the South-West, the wind blows strongly year round. Wind mills can be installed to produce electricity. Solar energy is also a never-ending energy, especially in the North in summer when the sun shines a large part of the day. In the South-Eastern humid regions, hydroelectric energy can be used. The ocean itself can provide energy (tide, wave or geothermal energy).

With the forthcoming presidential election on November 6^th, the issue of climate change or importance of the use of renewable energy instead of fossil energy can be raised. Two different visions are at stake: one is in favour of Alaska economic development that comes with mineral or oil extraction; the other is in favour of an evolution of the lifestyles and more interaction between human society and the environment. At present, even in putting forward the argument of the costs of global warming against the argument of financial profits if renewable energies were used, very few are convinced of the importance to change the system and adapt our lifestyles to energies at our disposal. Sadly enough, in the US also the transition towards a green economy is not for now.

I could meet a lot of people interested in environmental issues (personal interest or job), including all my hosts as for now. But I couldn't meet people directly working in environmental protection NGOs. Same goes with native people from the West or South-East, to whom I had very little access. This is unfortunate because I am sure I would have learnt a lot about their interaction with nature.

I am leaving a state full of contradictions, full of inestimable richness but also mercantile motivations. I am not judging. I only had a short extract of the situation up here. But still an extract … and you read it entirely. Congratulations!