SENATE DEFEATS EFFORT TO OPEN THE ARCTIC REFUGE TO OIL DRILLING

[Michael Kadillak]

The pure greed to secure large portions of unused natural resources is what spawned the pursuit of the New World in the 1400's and it is the most fundamental tenet of the human economy. In a text book world, we surely would have been better as a human race if we used our intelligence to think beyond the end of our nose. Unfortunately, the only lessons we humans learn are those following aggregious mistakes. Without lumber that is harvested, minerals that are mined, petroleum that is drilled and water that is piped, we would be living in a cave. Politely ask a vegetarian photographer about their link to the meat industry (boiled bones to produce gelatin film backing) and you will see a face of disbelief and denial. I have seen the railroad cars of animal bones that Kodak has shipped from the packing houses in the West to Massachusetts. My point is that the more we embrace the realities of our human existance in the intellectual form and refrain from pure polarity on the issues we face to protect our environment, the better chance we have of making real progress. Spouting emotion only creates irrational behavior and takes us back to how our animal ancestors resolved disputes. Natural beauty is everyone's cause as we have the strongest economy in the world but at what price? How we balance the need to provide jobs and prepare for the world our children will live in will define out future. In a rather simplistic way, when I take my son with me to make make a photograph in a wilderness area here in Colorado, I feel that I have done a small part to make a positive impact on the future generation that hopefully he can feel passionate about as he grows up.

[Lars Åke Vinberg]

It's funny... I live in a society (Sweden) where it is actually possible to get by without owning a car (even in the countryside, though admittedly harder). Gas prices are around USD$4/gallon, of which about 80 percent is tax, intended to keep car usage down. And it works. People use public transportation, urban sprawl follows the subway and train lines, etc. I used to live in Northern California, so I do understand that changing the American society to be less car- dependent would take a very long time, probably a generation or two. But it must eventually happen, so perhaps it would be a smart move to start the change sooner rather than later? I'd say that with gas prices above $2/gallon (used to be 85c), the change has begun, although most Americans have not yet accepted that. Keeping the gas prices down by increasing the supply - Alaska or not - will just postpone the inevitable transition. Better save the Alaskan oil for colder days. Best regards, ?ke

[Wim van Velzen]

Fair enough Michael. Emotion alone will get us nowhere. Though I get emotional speaking about these things.

But there is more between living in a cave and in the way Hollywood prescribes. Just think about what you are doing. Is this buy really necessary, do I have to go by car, couldn't I do without yet another snack. You get the picture.

It is not just good for future generations, but for our personal joy in life as well. The food I cook tastes so much better now it is almost all bio-organic. It costs more, it tastes better and it 'feels' better.

And yes, sometimes I am lazy and go by car. Or stupid and eat another bucket of cookies.

I know this has little to do with photography (allthough the pursuit of consumer goods is very apparent here :-)

[Jonathan Brewer]

Thanks for the e-mail Matt, you touched on something elemental to the debate, living a fuller and happier life by lowering you standard of living. Compared to other countries most of us enjoy a pretty high standard of living, and the folks who don't have money are still living like 'kings' off their credit cards.

Some folks here don't know what poor is, you go to some countries and poor means not eating for a couple week if you eat at all, not an old TV, a raggedy car, a place to stay and all you can eat like here in the states. I've been broke several times, flat broke, but I've never gone hungry. Here in the States you can live like a king while you put yourself in debt and I believe that is at the heart of the problem.

A while back my wife and I looked at what we were doing, we were astounded by the debt we had run up on our credit cards, we made a pact that we would quit using them except in an emergency, pretty much cash only until we paid them off. The more we reduced out debt the more fun life became. Our standard of living hasn't really changed even though we might have less, or rather our quality of life has increased.

Everybody is going to go through a period when they're broke unless you picked rich parents, I've been broke several times so don't bother with a thread about being broke, which you typed on your computer.

[Jim Galli]

Hey Michael, If I come up and we go out to where the oil is underneath, how many mosquito bites will I get for each 45 minutes of shooting? I hate mosquitoes! Best regards. Jim

[Sal Santamaura]

Although home with the flu today, I had to drag myself out of bed to see what's happened with this thread. Here goes:

Eric - Circumstances, in this case elderly in-laws who can't tolerate the elevation at which we're planning to build our next home, plus the inability to walk away from long-term retirement programs just yet without benefits being trashed, mean there's no viable alternative to an internal combustion engine driven vehicle for us at this time. I've taken reasonable steps to minimize my impact on the planet by driving a vehicle that achieves very high fuel economy and is rated as Ultra Low Emission.

Michael - I've been to the great land. Natives survived just fine without Europeans and a cash based economy before our invasion. I feel no compulsion to drill in ANWR so anyone can exist there in other than a subsistence situation.

Matt - you're absolutely correct about the "amount of damage done in one summer by tourists, photogs, hikers, bikers, et al." You underscore my point about greatly excessive population. I take this subject very seriously, and am childless by choice, again to minimize what we take from the planet. Our home here has no lawn, thus no sprinklers. Since forced to install living landscape materials by homeowners association covenents, I have planted low water demand xeriscape species and sustain them with a drip irrigation system. It's the least consumption possible without being fined for violating the rules.

Alec - yes, I wish my taxes were higher. Although we have no children of our own, I find it unconscionable that a huge cut in current taxes was enacted despite the massive debt our government carries. That debt is nothing more than a tax in advance on the children of everyone here who does have them. All I can offer to those who think taxes are too high in the US is what my late father would say to me when I complained on that subject: "May you pay as much in taxes next year as you earned this year."

Chad - just because BLM made bad decisions does not mean we should open ANWR.

Pete - were it not for the level of technical expertise you bring to actual photography posts (much greater than mine) I don't think we could be told apart. If I ever make it across the pond again it would be nice to meet you.

Jonathan - Americans (collectively) are a spoiled child. You are correct that most of us here do not have a clue what poor is. Yes, there are some pockets of real poverty, but for the most part "hard times" are perceived as not being able to get the loan for a desired new car. Stuff abounds, but enjoyment of life is in short supply.

While I don't display signs or bumper stickers on my vehicles, I do read those in front of me. One that provided a good laugh along with a possible way to deal with some of the inane attitudes around us was: "I feel much better since I gave up hope." Of course those of you with children might not like it as much.

[violin]

"we will continue to be held hostage by the Middle East."

Think it is the other way around, or don't you get newspapers in the USA Michael

[Mikhail Arkhipov]

To those who are for the drilling: now, what happens AFTER you finally burn out the Alaskan oil? Plead to somebody who still has oil supplies (like Russia) to sell it at a resonable price? And what you are gonna do if they won't be "reasonable"? Declare war on them? You actually have to decide this right now. There is not much oil left on this planet.

[John Lehman]

Michael Bird had the best idea - why not come up here to Alaska and check out ANWR for yourselves. We can use the extra tourism. Sheet film is available in Fairbanks at Alaskan Photo Repair (Agfa - they also sell used LF equipment), Fairbanks Fast Photo (Kodak) and the University of Alaska Fairbanks Wood Center (Kodak and sometimes Ilford). Gas prices are about the same as outside (I think -- I walk to work and so have only bought one tank the last two months).

That's about all I can contribute to the discussion, since as an employee of the University (and therefore the State) of Alaska, I am forbidden by state administrative law from saying anything which might discourage exploitation of oil in the ANWR (even as a private citizen -- this is sent from home on a personally-owned computer)

[Michael Kadillak]

Adrian: Clearly you understand my literary intent. When we import over 60% of our daily oil consumption from the Middle East, we are extremely vunerable to the changing winds of politics. When the rest of the Arab world equates our affiliation with Israel as sleeping with the enemy, how long will it be before greed for oil revenues is surpassed by sympathy for the poor and surpressed? In my opinion, we are dangerously close to a Middle East catastrophy that could bring our economy to its knees in less than a month.

As far as hydrocarbon resources in the world, you would find the projections of reserves for oil and natural gas to be 50-100 years in the future even at modestly escalated consumption trends. The key is the forward price model used to make the calculation. The higher a BBL of oil of an MMBTU of natural gas, the more technology (deeper water drilling, better seismic etc.) we can expend to explore for and produce it. In my previous life as a Petroleum Engineer I was intimately involved in these efforts. Natural Gas is one of the most important components of a Clean Resource model that we can use. We are quite independent from our Middle East dependency and its combustion byproducts are 1000 times cleaner than the cleanest fuel oil. In the United States mainland, we have just about found and recovered all of the oil that there is to find. Here is an alarming statistic. The best oil well only recovers 8-12% of the oil that is in the reservoir in primary production. Secondary recoveries (water floods) recover a bit more and tertiary floods (polymers etc.) may raise the recoverable oil to about 25% of what is in place. That means that we leave 75% (+/-) in the ground. We can recover more than 90% + of the natural gas from a natural gas field.

Alaska will not solve the problem all by itself. It is but one piece of a very dimensional potential solution. But without intense government funded research to discover a new source of universal energy, we are collectively watching the sand pass through the center of the hourglass. Have a good weekend.