The Impact of Eco-Extremists Is Being Felt in Alaska Cities

September 27, 2019

Alaska is a beautiful place.  Majestic mountains, meadows filled with a kaleidoscope of flora and fauna, lakes and rivers teeming with world-class fishing, fjords with abundant sea life and mammals, glaciers meandering to tidewater, and the Northern Lights showing off during the fall and winter months – Alaska shows its beauty off like nowhere else.

Alaska is also one of the US’s greatest energy success stories.  From the gold found near Nome in pre-statehood days, to the massive amounts of timber in southcentral and southeast Alaska, to a 76-year coal mine with over 100 years of reserves that they know of, to the massive oil fields on its North Slope, Alaska has helped power America.

History has shown Alaska can thrive in both the ‘protect-the-environment’ and the ‘responsibly-develop-it’ worlds simultaneously. 

Why then must the eco-Left continue to push our past and current successes aside, and attempt to lock up our future?  It is a movement they’re carrying out in cities and towns across this state, as they roll out “Climate Action Plans” one after the other.

First, Anchorage spent nearly sixteen months and thousands of man-hours to draft a climate plan.  Now Fairbanks, Juneau, Homer and others are in the process of finalizing theirs.

As a private citizen, I want to know that my government is working from a balanced approach between environmental stewardship and responsible development, which drives the vast majority of Alaska’s job market and nearly 80% of our state’s general fund revenues.

When those jobs, future opportunities and Alaska’s future are put at risk because of “plans” to fix a “problem” that has minimal impact among its many intrusions and lifestyle modifications, the public should push back.

Power The Future will continue to advocate for jobs, opportunities and Alaska’s future.  We’ll continue to push back against ill-conceived and damaging programs that stand to damage those.  We’ll continue to fight for Alaska.