American Eco-Extremists Opposing ANWR: Here’s Your Sign!

April 12, 2021

OK, enough of the silliness.  Enough of the posturing.  Enough of the false narrative.  Enough of the bought-and-paid-for actors and actresses.  Enough of the lies and deceit.

For over 40 years, the 1002 Area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) – also known as the Coastal Plain – has been designated an oil and gas development area by Congress.  That’s right – over 40 years.  That’s not in dispute.

For the same period of time, people and organizations have fought that designation, hoping instead to keep development from happening there.

And for the past 25 years or so, those organizations have funded and encouraged a group of actors and actresses from Fairbanks and surrounding areas (although certainly not from the 1002 area itself) to put out messaging around the “sacredness” of the area.  Even though they live 400 miles away from the Coastal Plain.  Even though those same people encouraged oil and gas companies to invest in their backyards (where exploratory drilling occurred, but no oil was found).  Then and only then did the “sacredness” narrative arise – quite the hypocrisy that the Gwich’in opposing 1002 development clearly do not want to talk about.

Here’s what else is completely fabricated:  It isn’t the Gwich’in who are going to be most affected by the opening (or continued resistance to opening) of the 1002 area; it is the Inupiat of Kaktovik, a village located entirely in ANWR, whose village supports responsible development by a substantial margin.  Matthew Rexford, Kaktovik’s tribal administrator, has been a wealth of information these past three weeks, calling out the falsehoods spread about his village by those who seek to undermine its future.

Listen to Matthew Rexford’s testimony regarding HJR-12, which passed the Alaska State Legislature by an overwhelming vote total a couple of weeks ago.  Read Matthew’s op-ed in the Anchorage Daily News, where he shares his thoughts on the lies and deceit being spread about his people, and the effect those lies have on his village.

Power The Future encourages you to think for yourself and not just take in the falsehoods; especially now that you’ve been introduced to Matthew and the true facts.

If you still believe the Gwich’in’s story, then Bill Engvall and Jeff Foxworthy’s well-known quote may be your life’s tagline.  And, if so, there’s nothing more anyone we or rational Americans can do for you, other than shake our heads in sympathy.