An Industry Worth Defending

December 6, 2019

As the 2020 presidential campaign begins to ramp up, so does the rhetoric of so many Democratic candidates regarding the energy industry. Whether this means vowing to ban fracking and eliminate fossil fuels or praising the radical Green New Deal, there is an increasing amount of misinformation and disinformation surrounding the industry.

Fortunately, there are also voices amplifying what actually matters to everyday Americans. Most recently, President Trump’s senior advisor to his 2020 campaign made sure that Alaskans know the real value of energy development in the Anchorage Daily News.

Every Alaskan knows the importance of energy security — thousands of working families in the state rely directly on local energy production, and every resident benefits from the state’s oil dividend, which paid out $1,600 per person in 2018.

And there’s no doubt that this industry is both the present and future of Alaska’s economy. If we continue to defend and promote this industry, it will continue providing for us.

Just last month, the federal government awarded Anchorage a $25 million federal grant to help build a new petroleum and cement terminal at the city port. Meanwhile, the Trump administration continues to explore new ways to boost drilling in remote regions of Alaska — a move that would make the state even more prosperous.