We're not ready to drill safely in the Arctic Ocean

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Monday January 02, 2012 · 12:41 PM PST

2012/01/02 · 12:41

For those of us who have watched with dismay as the Obama administration moves forward with approval after approval of Shell's oil drilling permits for the Arctic Ocean, there's a logical disconnect: Why would the administration allow drilling in the Arctic Ocean when there's a reasonable likelihood of a disaster in the making?

Consider these three critical concerns:
• Very few of the post-BP Oil Spill Commission's and the National Academy of Engineering's recommendations have been implemented, including no reforms to date by Congress.
• Our understanding of the region's ecology and the impacts a major spill would have, including on subsistence, is greatly insufficient, according to the administration's own study by the U.S. Geological Survey. Additionally, there's no plan to remedy that problem.
• Spill "cleanup" technologies are primitive, with recovery of oil contacting the ocean measured in single-digit percentages.

wonkinak

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Sunday March 14, 2010 · 2:44 PM PDT

2010/03/14 · 14:44

The nearly $400 million Gravina Access “bridge to nowhere” project, which would connect Ketchikan (population 8,000) to Gravina Island (population 50) over Tongass Narrows was cancelled by Alaska Governor Sarah Palin in September 2007...sort of. Instead of building the bridge, then-Governor Palin spent $41 million in federal transportation funds to build an underpass and a three-mile road on Gravina in 2008 to the beach where the bridge would have gone. Because of her decision, the federal government will require repayment of the $15 million in federal funds the state spent to plan the bridge project and the $41 million spent to build the so-called Gravina Island “Highway” to the deserted beach. With the intent of not repaying the federal government for the millions of dollars the state spent on this “road to nowhere,” the Alaska Department of Transportation announced on March 10, 2010 that it again is considering building a bridge to Gravina at a cost of $240 million or more.

wonkinak

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Monday October 13, 2008 · 4:43 PM PDT

2008/10/13 · 16:43

Here is a downloadable counter that shows the amount of federal tax dollars spent in real time on Alaska’s OTHER "bridge to nowhere," the proposed Knik Arm Bridge. The bridge's more well-known cousin is the now-cancelled Gravina "bridge to nowhere" proposed for Ketchikan, Alaska.
Both bridges were pursued as a result of Congressional earmarks obtained by Alaska Senator Ted Stevens and Congressman Don Young (in fact, the federal transportation bill officially names the Knik Arm Bridge "Don Young's Way").

There's also a new, one-stop website for Alaska's current and past history with bridges and roads to nowhere, which includes some very interesting video links.

If built, the Knik Arm Bridge would link Anchorage to virtually unpopulated Point MacKenzie. The proposed bridge would not solve any commuting problems, however, since it would take longer and cost more for commuters from the Wasilla and Palmer population centers in the Mat-Su Borough to use the proposed toll bridge rather than the existing highway to Anchorage...

wonkinak

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Monday September 24, 2007 · 4:47 PM PDT

2007/09/24 · 16:47

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin announced on September 21 that the federal money for the proposed bridge from Ketchikan (pop. 14,000) to Gravina Island (pop. 50) would be used for other state transportation projects. The move ensured that the controversial bridge will not be built. Governor Palin (and private investors, see previous diary), however, still are pursuing a second "bridge to nowhere," the Knik Arm Bridge, which would connect Anchorage (pop. 260,000) to undeveloped Point Mackenzie (pop. 100).

wonkinak

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Sunday January 21, 2007 · 3:47 PM PST

2007/01/21 · 15:47

After Congress decided in late 2005 it couldn't stomach a $229 million earmark for a bridge to nowhere from Anchorage to undeveloped land across two-mile wide Knik Arm, Congress gave $229 million in un-earmarked dollars to the state of Alaska in a deal with powerful Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens. That should have been the end of the Knik Arm Bridge (also known in the 2005 federal transportation statute as "Don Young’s Way," named after Alaska Congressman and federal money benefactor Congressman Don Young) since the state now could spend the money on more worthwhile transportation projects like fixing its poorly-maintained roads -- with no state income or sales tax, there's little money for infrastructure upkeep. But the bridge-building plan has not yet sunk to the bottom of the treacherous salmon and beluga-filled waters of Knik Arm, and now bridge proponents are asking private investors to fund the project.

RSS

We're not ready to drill safely in the Arctic Ocean

Infamous “Bridge to Nowhere” near Ketchikan, Alaska Rises from the Dead

Cost to federal taxpayers for Alaska's OTHER "bridge to nowhere"

The Real Truth about the Cancelled "Bridge to Nowhere"

Alaska's Bridge to Nowhere Seeks Private Investment