The Natural History of an Arctic Oil Field

The Natural History of an Arctic Oil Field

Author: Joe C. Truett

Publisher: Elsevier

Published: 2000-06-09

Total Pages: 461

ISBN-13: 0080512410

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In spite of the harsh conditions that characterize the Arctic, it is a surprisingly fragile ecosystem. The exploration for oil in the Arctic over the past 30 years has had profound effects on the plants and animals that inhabit this frozen clime. The Natural History of an Arctic Oil Field synthesizes decades of research on these myriad impacts. Specialists with years of field experience have contributed to this volume to create the first widely available synopsis of the ecology and wildlife biology of animals and plants living in close association with an actively producing oil field. - First widely available synthesis of arctic oil field ecology and wildlife biology - Concise yet readable treatment of a diverse polar ecosystem - Useful for land managers, policy makers as well as ecologists, and population biologists - Chapters authored by recognized authorities and contributions are peer-reviewed for accuracy and scientific rigor - Illustrations attractively designed to enhance comprehension


Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)

Author: Barbara T. Lieland

Publisher: Nova Publishers

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 126

ISBN-13: 9781594547300

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The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) consists of 19 million acres in north-east Alaska. It is administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) in the Department of the Interior (DOI). It is a 1.5 million acre coastal plain on the North Slope of the Brooks Range that is currently viewed as one of the most likely undeveloped US onshore oil and gas prospects. According to the US Geological Survey, there is even a small chance that taken together, the fields on this federal land could hold as much economically recoverable oil as the giant field at Prudhoe Bay, found in 1967 on the coastal plain west of ANWR. That state-owned portion of the coastal plain is now estimated to have held 11-13 billion barrels of oil. The Refuge, and especially the coastal plain, is home to a wide variety of plants and animals. The presence of caribou, polar bears, grizzly bears, wolves, migratory birds, and many other species in a nearly undisturbed state has led some to call the area America's 'Serengeti'. The Refuge and two neighbouring parks in Canada have been proposed for an international park, and several species found in the area (including polar bears, caribou, migratory birds, and whales) are protected by international treaties or agreements. The analysis in this book covers, first, the economic and geological factors that have triggered new interest in development, followed by the philosophical, biological, and environmental quality factors that have triggered opposition to it. The book begins with a review of the nature and issues of the ANWR.


Cumulative Environmental Effects of Oil and Gas Activities on Alaska's North Slope

Cumulative Environmental Effects of Oil and Gas Activities on Alaska's North Slope

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2003-09-04

Total Pages: 305

ISBN-13: 0309168368

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This book identifies accumulated environmental, social and economic effects of oil and gas leasing, exploration, and production on Alaska's North Slope. Economic benefits to the region have been accompanied by effects of the roads, infrastructure and activies of oil and gas production on the terrain, plants, animals and peoples of the North Slope. While attempts by the oil industry and regulatory agencies have reduced many of the environmental effects, they have not been eliminated. The book makes recommendations for further environmental research related to environmental effects.


Defending the Arctic Refuge

Defending the Arctic Refuge

Author: Finis Dunaway

Publisher: UNC Press Books

Published: 2021-04-12

Total Pages: 343

ISBN-13: 146966111X

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Tucked away in the northeastern corner of Alaska is one of the most contested landscapes in all of North America: the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Considered sacred by Indigenous peoples in Alaska and Canada and treasured by environmentalists, the refuge provides life-sustaining habitat for caribou, polar bears, migratory birds, and other species. For decades, though, the fossil fuel industry and powerful politicians have sought to turn this unique ecosystem into an oil field. Defending the Arctic Refuge tells the improbable story of how the people fought back. At the center of the story is the unlikely figure of Lenny Kohm (1939–2014), a former jazz drummer and aspiring photographer who passionately committed himself to Arctic Refuge activism. With the aid of a trusty slide show, Kohm and representatives of the Gwich'in Nation traveled across the United States to mobilize grassroots opposition to oil drilling. From Indigenous villages north of the Arctic Circle to Capitol Hill and many places in between, this book shows how Kohm and Gwich'in leaders and environmental activists helped build a political movement that transformed the debate into a struggle for environmental justice. In its final weeks, the Trump administration fulfilled a long-sought dream of drilling proponents: leasing much of the Arctic Refuge coastal plain for fossil fuel development. Yet the fight to protect this place is certainly not over. Defending the Arctic Refuge traces the history of a movement that is alive today—and that will continue to galvanize diverse groups to safeguard this threatened land.


A History of the Arctic

A History of the Arctic

Author: John McCannon

Publisher: Reaktion Books

Published: 2013-02-15

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 1780230761

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Bitter cold and constant snow. Polar bears, seals, and killer whales. Victor Frankenstein chasing his monstrous creation across icy terrain in a dogsled. The arctic calls to mind a myriad different images. Consisting of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, the United States, Russia, Greenland, Finland, Norway and Sweden, the arctic possesses a unique ecosystem—temperatures average negative 29 degrees Fahrenheit in winter and rarely rise above freezing in summer—and the indigenous peoples and cultures that live in the region have had to adapt to the harsh weather conditions. As global temperatures rise, the arctic is facing an environmental crisis, with melting glaciers causing grave concern around the world. But for all the renown of this frozen region, the arctic remains far from perfectly understood. In A History of the Arctic, award-winning polar historian John McCannon provides an engaging overview of the region that spans from the Stone Age to the present. McCannon discusses polar exploration and science, nation-building, diplomacy, environmental issues, and climate change, and the role indigenous populations have played in the arctic’s story. Chronicling the history of each arctic nation, he details the many failed searches for a Northwest Passage and the territorial claims that hamper use of these waterways. He also explores the resources found in the arctic—oil, natural gas, minerals, fresh water, and fish—and describes the importance they hold as these resources are depleted elsewhere, as well as the challenges we face in extracting them. A timely assessment of current diplomatic and environmental realities, as well as the dire risks the region now faces, A History of the Arctic is a thoroughly engrossing book on the past—and future—of the top of the world.