~And they would’ve got away with it too… if it weren’t for that pesky Constitution!

The question is “school choice.” That’s what they call it, anyway. Anchorage is fortunate in that there is already a great network of 27 charter schools available for those who want a public school alternative. And America is fortunate that for our kids, attending school is a privilege to which everyone is entitled. Yes, education is an “entitlement program,” (oh, the horror) and we ought to be proud of that. It’s one of those instances when “American exceptionalism” really means something.

Republicans in the Alaska State House, like Republicans across the land, have put the institution of public education squarely in their cross-hairs, and the House Education Committee is attempting to usher through a bill known as HB145.

One of those leading the charge is Rep. Wes Keller of Wasilla. Keller was one of the five lawmakers who filed the suit to stop the legislative investigation of the Troopergate scandal, and is also an elder in Palin’s church whom she appointed to his seat.

By Wickersham’s Conscience

The Costa Concordia still lies on her side off the Tuscan coast, with 16 confirmed dead and many still missing. Alaskans know, to their sorrow, that not all ship’s captains are scrupulously careful, not all crew members fully qualified, and not all accidents truly accidents.

A Dutch salvage company is struggling to off load the half million gallons of fuel still on the ship, before something fails and another of the world’s pristine marine environments falls victim to industrialization. In this case, industrial tourism.

But as sad as the Costa Concordia’s story is, as tragic as the grounding has already been for the families of the dead and the injured, WC  can’t help but imagine the consequences of a similar accident in southeast Alaska, in Prince William Sound, or in Kachemak Bay. Imagine a Carnival Cruise ship laying on her side at the head of Muir Inlet, sunk in a too-close approach to the glacier to give the passengers a thrill. Imagine a ship this size going down in Dangerous Passage on the west side of Prince William Sound because someone mis-read a tide table.

Don’t say it can’t happen. It has. It will again.

Even if the technology were perfect – and it isn’t – human error, whether drunkenness, showboating, or plain incompetence  can overcome any fail safes. The problem with making things foolproof is that fools are so ingenious.

As industrial tourism, with its 4,000 passenger ships, penetrates the arctic, and cruises through the northwest passage become more routine, the problems will only become more acute.

Sure, there are damage control plans, contingency plans and drills. But you will forgive WC his skepticism. There were plans for oil spills before the Exxon Valdez, and they were worse than useless. The Costa Concordia struck that rock on January 15; as of this date, she still lies there. This shipwreck is in the heavily trafficked, well-developed Mediterranean; can you imagine the chaos if this was in the Beaufort Sea, thousands of miles from the nearest help, in a much more hostile – and fragile – environment?

Alaska has a … difficult … relationship with the cruise ship industry as it is. But the incontrovertible lesson of the Costa Concordia is that it will happen again, and Alaska once again will be nearly helpless to respond.

By Carl Johnson

While preparing to head off alone into the bowels of the Death Star to disable the tractor beam holding theMillenium Falcon captive, Obi Wan Kenobi rhetorically asked of Han Solo, “Who is more foolish? The fool, or the fool who follows him?”  I think of such questions sometimes when my legislators act foolishly.

You don’t have to be a lawyer to be a state legislator.  You also shouldn’t have to know all the relevant facts in relation to a proposed law in order to sponsor it.  But somewhere along the way, someone who knows the law and the facts should step in before a law is proposed.  Alaska State Representative Kyle Johansen shows his ignorance of the law and the facts with his sponsorship of HJR31, which calls upon Congress to designate Central Park in Manhattan a wilderness area, and thus prohibit any development absent approval from Congress.

“WTF?” you may rightly ask.  Rep. Johansen claims that the goal of the resolution is to bring to light the ridiculousness of Alaskans being prevented from developing the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.  Apparently Rep. Johansen is not afraid of looking like a total and complete idiot, and also disparaging the intelligence of Alaskans on a national stage, by making this proposal.

The resolution is legally and factually flawed in several ways.

First, only existing federal lands can be set aside as wilderness.  The National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) was established by the Wilderness Act of 1964.  Under the Act, only existing federal lands are eligible for selection as wilderness, and five specific factors must be satisfied: (1) the land is under federal ownership and management, (2) the area consists of at least five thousand acres of land, (3) human influence is “substantially unnoticeable,” (4) there are opportunities for solitude and recreation, and (5) the area possesses “ecological, geological, or other features of scientific, educational, scenic, or historical value.” Not surprisingly, Rep. Johansen’s proposed resolution does not address these requirements.  Central Park would not satisfy at a minimum the first three factors: it’s not federal land, it consists of only 843 acres, and the influence of humans is substantially noticeable.

Second, under the Alaska Statehood Act – similar to all states that joined the Union following the original 13 Colonies – the State of Alaska was entitled to select 103,350,000 acres of land not already set aside by the Federal government for other uses.  Alaska has been granted an additional 1.5 million acres of land for university and mental health trust uses.  The lands encompassing what is now the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge were never eligible for State selection and have, since the purchase of Alaska from the Russians in 1867, always been Federal lands.  Thus, creating the Arctic Refuge never took away from Alaska any land that was ever granted to Alaska.

Third, under the Alaska Constitution, the people of Alaska agreed to be bound by the terms of the Alaska Statehood Act that exclude certain lands from use by Alaska.  Specifically, Article 12, Section 12 states: “The State of Alaska and its people forever disclaim all right and title in or to any property belonging to the United States or subject to its disposition, and not granted or confirmed to the State or its political subdivisions, by or under the act admitting Alaska to the Union … The State and its people agree that, unless otherwise provided by Congress, the property, as described in this section, shall remain subject to the absolute disposition of the United States.”  Thus, by insisting that the Federal government allow Alaskans to do what they want with lands retained by the Federal government, Rep. Johansen (and virtually every other elected State official on this issue) has violated his oath of office, which includes a promise to “support and defend … the Constitution of the State of Alaska.”

Fourth, as noted above, Central Park is not federal land – it has always belonged to the people of New York. But, if Rep. Johansen is concerned about protecting it from abuse, it was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1963.  Plus, simply looking at the park not only in photographs and maps but in person (Rep. Johansen, have you ever been to Central Park? I have …), you can tell it is not under threat of development.  There is only one building in the park, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and if the park hasn’t been developed by now, it won’t.  One could also say that it is a model for management, as most of the expenses for maintenance of the park are raised by a private non-profit, the Central Park Conservancy, thus alleviating much of that burden from the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.

Finally, the claimed motivation behind Rep. Johansen’s resolution strongly suggests that the portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge where oil companies and State legislators want to develop, what is known as the 1002 Area of the coastal plain, is designated wilderness under the Wilderness Act.  It is not.

One could say that Central Park is already like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.  An oasis of habitat, surrounded by development (the North Slope region to the immediate west of the Refuge is a vast network of oil and gas infrastructure), it should be left alone to continue providing the valuable habitat it does to the many species that thrive within.  In fact, Rep. Johansen’s stunt is a compelling argument in favor of wilderness designation for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s 1002 Area on the coastal plain.  The biodiversity and importance of the Arctic Refufe far outweighs that provided in the mere 843 acres seen in Central Park.

Oh, and Rep. Johansen, I would fire your research staff.

~Thick and fast they came at last, and more, and more, and more…

Adorable on Steroids

Be warned. Do not play this video unless you are able to handle a serious overdose of cuteness. This is a polar bear cub from the Scandanavian Wildlife Park. His mother was unable to nurse him, so little Siku (sea ice) has been coddled around the clock by his human caretakers.

To keep the cute coming, you can like Siku’s Facebook page HERE.

Clinton and Obama are Most Admired – Palin Slips

Gallup reports that once again Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama have topped the charts for most admired woman, and most admired man in any part of the world, each receiving 17% of all mentions.

Clinton tops the list of most admired woman for a record 16th time, and Obama won the title of most admired man for the fourth consecutive year.

The lists, which Gallup has compiled nearly every year since 1948, are a mix of popular, high-profile leaders in politics, business, charitable causes and entertainment.

Our ex-half-governor slipped from a #2 spot last year, to #4 this year.

Those who have been in the top ten the most? Billy Graham, and Queen Elizabeth II.

Zing!

Remember how Newt Gingrich said that his name not getting on the ballot in Virginia due to the incompetence of his own campaign was akin to Pearl Harbor? Well, Mitt Romney had a great observation. When asked about the ballot fail by a reporter in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Romney responded:

“I think he compared that to … Pearl Harbor,” Romney said. “I think its more like Lucille Ball at the chocolate factory. So, I mean, you know, you gotta get it organized.”

Newt responded to the hilarious Lucy comparison with the following humorless testosterone-laden adolescent rant:

“I’ll meet him anywhere in Iowa, for 90 minutes, just the two of us, in a debate, with a timekeeper and no moderator,” Gingrich told Blitzer after being shown the clip of Romney mocking him. “I’d like for him to have the courage to back his negative ads,” Gingrich continued, adding that he could not prove that he could beat President Obama at a debate without going through Gingrich. Blitzer noted that Romney had debate Gingrich, and “he was standing during those debates rather close to you.” That wasn’t enough for Gingrich, however, given the recent negative campaign. “If you want to run a negative campaign and want to attack people, at least be man enough to own it,” he replied.

That’s right Willard (pokes finger in chest), you and me, outside, right here, right now… if you’re man enough.

BP Off the Hook

Judge Ralph Beistline released BP from probation over a 2009 oil spill of 15,000 gallons from a pipeline rupture that contaminated wetlands on the North Slope. The judge told BP that it better not happen again, but said it was an accident and that there was no way BP could have reasonably expected what happened to have happened – even though it did. So, does this mean “negligence” must be purposeful? Next time BP makes elaborate plans to spill oil for jollies, and deliberately opens the spigot while doing the evil “lets destroy wetlands” dance, they’re in biiiiig trouble.

“It is incumbent upon BP to make sure this does not happen again,” he admonished. Beistline’s order followed seven days of hearings — in effect a mini-trial — into allegations that BP violated probation conditions from its conviction in 2007 for violating the Clean Water Act with a 250,000-gallon spill. The Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency sought to have the 2007 probation revoked and reinstated with new conditions — additional fines and an extended period of compliance. Like most other criminal defendants, BP’s probation agreement required it to obey state and federal laws. The 2009 spill amounted to just such a violation when crude spilled from a transport line that was plugged with ice after operators failed to address repeated alarms that sometimes lasted for months, prosecutors charged.

The GOP is pushing a pipeline that could blow you to pieces

Palast conducted a five-continent investigation of Big Oil for British TV’s premier current affairs program, Dispatches, and for BBC Worldwide. This report is based on the broadcast seen prime-time worldwide—but not yet in the USA.

Whistleblowers have told Britain’s “Dispatches” that the safety software on major US pipelines contains deliberate errors—and so pipelines can — and have — busted, leaked, exploded …and killed.

Congressional Republicans are holding extended unemployment benefits hostage until President Obama agrees to speed up approval to build the XL Keystone Pipeline. XL Keystone will slice down through the entire width of the USA, moving tar-sands oil from Canada to Houston.

The oil industry promises that the Pipeline will be safe. But the pipe is only safe if the PIG inside it can squeal.

Federal law requires the industry to run a diagnostic robot PIG, a Pipeline Inspection Gauge, that will squeal when something is wrong: a crack, dangerous corrosion, anything that might lead to a spill or explosion.

But PIGs are only as good as the software that tracks and analyzes their signals. And the software used by Big Oil has been compromised—deliberately.

Insiders told this reporter that the software was designed to fool the safety inspectors.

“The software feeds them incorrect information about the state of their pipeline.”

This source knows what he’s talking about: It was his team that designed the software with the known flaw. But so what?

The insider, quite nervous, told Britain’s Dispatches that, “If they don’t repair the pipelines the worst that can happen is similar to the disaster that we had near San Francisco, where natural gas pipeline exploded and killed 9 people.”

The insider—identified as Pig Man #1—appeared on Dispatches, Britain’s equivalent of “60 Minutes,” including the segments not yet broadcast.

Originally, our source thought that the deadly software code was an error—so he tried to fix it to meet the standards of the law.

“I was part of a team that corrected the error.”

But the error was deliberately left in place, and the correction hidden, “Because the software would increase the liability that a pipeline operator would, in this case a subsidiary of BP, would have to deal with.”

Pig Man #1′s story was corroborated by another member of the software team, too scared to come on camera, even in shadow, following a threat by the industry contractor hired by BP and other majors to design the software.

Dispatches provided the information to BP which said it complied with all rules and regulations.

That’s a reasonable alibi for BP, except that one of the nation’s premier public-interest lawyers doesn’t buy it. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., dean of environmental law studies at Pace University in New York notes that “the dog didn’t bark,” that is, when the Trans-Alaska Pipeline burst then exploded, when pipes cracked in Yellowstone National Park and underneath homes in California, the companies didn’t turn around and sue their software contractor for failures which costs millions of dollars in fines — and several lives.

Why not? Why is Big Oil happy with what they call a “smart PIG” that’s often real stupid? Is it because the dumber the PIG, the less sensitive the software, the more they save? Sometimes, the industry quietly skips the “pigging” altogether.

After all, a few million in fines and payments to bereaved families adds up to a cheap license to pollute.

Making the diagnostic software less sensitive is like pulling the battery out of a smoke alarm. God forbid you have a fire. But in the case of the PIG, it’s not just dangerous, it’s illegal. The whistleblower saw that the software violated the very specific requirements of the law, and tried to fix what he thought was an accidental error.

And by the way, I’d like everyone reading this to say a quiet ‘Thank You,’ to Pig Man #1. Even speaking in shadow, he took a gamble on his career, on a threat of financial ruin by the company who made all the engineers aware of the problem to sign papers that they would never discuss nor reveal anything about this software and it’s deadly errors. That’s guts, that’s courage.

But that brings us to the XL Pipeline. This pipeline which will be benefit BP, Shell Oil, Chevron, the Koch Brothers’ Flint Hills Resources, will be safe, just as BP swore to Congress in Nov 2009 that all is A-OK with drilling in the Gulf of Mexico’s deep water.

We have good reason to fear the PIG in the XL pipeline and, given the history of this crew, even more reason to fear the pigs that own it.

***********************************************

Cross-posted from TruthOut.org

Read more about Pig Man and the industry in this excerpt from Greg Palast’s new book Vultures’ Picnic: in Pursuit of Petroleum Pigs, Power Pirates and High-Finance Carnivores

*****

Greg Palast is the author of Vultures’ Picnic: In Pursuit of Petroleum Pigs, Power Pirates and High-Finance Carnivores, released in the US and Canada by Penguin.

You can read Vultures’ Picnic, “Chapter 1: Goldfinger,” or download it, at no charge: click here.

Photo by Joel Brady-Power

By Tele Aadsen

This photo was taken in Sitka, but could be almost anywhere in Southeast Alaska. The Tongass National Forest blankets most of our region, a crazy quilt of western red cedar, Sitka spruce, and western hemlock that covers almost 17 million acres. Not only is the Tongass the largest national forest in the US, it’s also the largest temperate rainforest remaining in the world. About 70,000 people call the Tongass home – as do 30,000 bears. This rare ecosystem also supports deer, wolves, over 300 species of birds, and all 5 species of salmon: chinook, coho, sockeye, chum, and pink.

When we talk about protecting wild salmon, our national dialogue is heavy on fisheries management and healthy oceans.  Essential elements, but incomplete. These ocean swimmers begin and end their lives in freshwater, including  17,690 miles of streams, lakes and ponds in the Tongass. If we promote sustainable fisheries without placing equal value on salmon habitat, both are at risk.

One of my fellow fishermen, Karl Jordan, published an editorial in the Juneau Empire yesterday: “Forest Service Budget Just Doesn’t Add Up.” (Available here.) Karl examined the annual funding for habitat conservation/restoration ($1.5 million) and logging/road development ($25 million). Quite a discrepancy – especially when you note that timber-related jobs number less than 200, compared to over 7000 fisheries-related jobs.

A fourth-generation fisherman, Karl’s profiled here in Amy Gulick’s tribute to the Tongass,  Salmon in the Trees. He’s a powerful advocate for salmon, speaking from a place of deep love for Southeast Alaska, the Tongass, and commercial fishing.

Photo by Jon Corbett

That’s the place that I speak from, too. Life as a harvester is, for me, inherently bound to life as a conservationist. I believe it’s my responsibility to protect what I love. And between the photo at the top of this post, the many joys of our life at sea, and the honor of hand-delivering these gorgeous fish to our customers, I can’t even begin to count all of the ways I love salmon and trees.

If you speak from this place, too, please join me in quick, easy activism for salmon. If you support increased funding for salmon programs and habitat restoration in the Tongass, please email Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell (ttidwell@fs.fed.us) with your message. It doesn’t have to be long, but it does have to be received by December 16th to weigh in on 2012′s budget planning.

Not sure what to say? Karl’s editorial, here, is a great resource. And, below is a copy of my letter to Undersecretary Harris Sherman, which you’re also welcome to use as a resource. Whether your livelihood depends on the well-being of the Tongass, or your life is richer knowing that wild places like this still exist in our world, thank you for joining me in this effort.

December 1, 2011

Undersecretary of Natural Resources Harris Sherman

U.S. Department of Agriculture

1400 Independence Ave. S.W.

Washington, D.C.

Dear Undersecretary Sherman,

My name is Tele Aadsen, and I’m a second-generation salmon troller in Southeast Alaska. Salmon trollers are predominantly family operations; I began fishing at the age of seven, in 1984. My mother was one of a handful of female skippers at that time, and we comprised the only all-female troller. For the past 7 years my partner and I have run our own boat, the 43-foot Nerka, which he grew up on and took over as a 22 year old. Hook-and-line caught, we process and freeze our catch at sea, self-marketing a premium quality wild salmon to restaurants, grocers, and food co-ops across the U.S. This is our sole source of income.

Discussion of salmon sustainability frequently focuses on fisheries management and healthy oceans. Essential elements, yet incomplete. We must devote equal attention to the surrounding forests, which provide critical salmon habitat. In its streams, lakes, and ponds, the Tongass National Forest provides 17,690 miles of salmon habitat. Salmon are inextricably linked with the Tongass; the well-being of one directly impacts the other.

In Alaska, salmon mean far more than a meal or a paycheck. In a 2007 survey, 96% of Alaskans said salmon are essential to our way of life. In our remote region, where many communities are island-based, closed systems, the term “way of life” refers more to practical necessity than sentimentality. Nearly 90% of rural households in Southeast Alaska depend on salmon.

What does a dependency on salmon look like? It looks like over 7000 jobs: men, women, and young people working on fishing vessels or in processing plants. In a tremendous ripple effect, fisheries contribute to local economies. In some of Southeast Alaska’s small communities, salmon are the local economy. Grocers, restaurants, hotels, cold storages and transport systems all flourish with healthy salmon runs. The combined economic value of commercial, sports, and subsistence salmon fishing, plus hatchery operations, is estimated at $986.1 million.

The economic impact of salmon doesn’t stop at Alaska’s border. Many fishermen spend the off-season in the Lower 48, enhancing the economy of multiple states. In 2009, my partner and I were able to purchase our first home in Washington, where we frequently have boat work done. Maintaining a safe, successful fishing vessel is an expensive, on-going effort: all across the West Coast, harbors, boat yards, diesel mechanics, refrigeration services, craftsmen, fiberglass workers, metal fabricators, gear stores, and other marine service professionals are direct beneficiaries of our good salmon seasons.

Beyond these enormous economic considerations, the Tongass is one of the few remaining wild places in America, a rare ecosystem of deep cultural significance, beauty and wonder. I’m profoundly grateful for my life as a commercial fisherman, and hope to continue providing quality wild salmon to Americans in a responsible manner. I’m committed to protecting the natural resources that allow this unique profession, and want to thank you, Undersecretary Sherman, for joining me in this effort. Thank you for advocating for a healthy, sustainable future, prioritizing funding for watershed restoration and salmon habitat in the Tongass.

Sincerely,

Tele Aadsen, MSW

F/V Nerka

By Wickersham’s Conscience

WC’s readers will recall that back in June 2011, WC was critical – well, vitriolic, really – of Governor Parnell’s decision to litigate the endangered species classification of the Cook Inlet Beluga Whales. Because Parnell’s other bad decisions had removed Alaskan officials from the group that develops the recovery plan, Alaska had no seat at the table that would affect use of Cook Inlet for decades. All the eggs were in the litigation basket, and the basket was ridiculously flimsy.

Today the State’s basket collapsed and its eggs all broke: Chief U.S. District Judge Lambreth threw out the State’s case. It wasn’t even close. No, WC will go further: there was never any doubt. The law under the Endangered Species Act is extremely well-developed and settled. Let WC translate that for non-lawyers: the issues the State is trying to raise have been raised dozens of times before and each and every time the party challenging the endangered species classification has lost.

Predictably, the Comments on the Anchorage Daily News article on the subject blow a lot of smoke but precious little light. They attack the scientists, blames environmentalists and the rail against the federal government. Curiously, no one blames Anchorage’s untreated sewage, the incredible amounts of oil and drilling sludge from oil and gas wells in the Inlet or Anchorage port expansion and dredging. It’s always easier to blame someone else, but perhaps not very honest.

Neither the Governor nor the Attorney General have found time yet to respond to the court’s slap-down of their lame lawsuit. WC hopes that the State won’t waste still more money by appealing to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Frankly, the money would be better spent burning it on a street corner, where it might provide a little warmth on a cold winter night, and provide a little illumination into the Governor’s strategic thinking.

Because now the State’s options are pretty pathetic and narrowed to one choice. Withdraw the silly gag order, making State biologists eligible for the Recovery Team so the State’s voice could be heard going forward. Of course, that would involve the Governor’s very publicly swallowing a massive amount of Common Raven. Crow just wouldn’t do. His pride and dignity would suffer. But it’s orders of magnitude more likely to be helpful than continuing the silly, stupid lawsuit.

In the meantime, perhaps the Governor can tell us how much money has been squandered in legal fees so far?

Cook Inlet has a problem. It used to have a large, healthy population of beluga whales. The population of about 1,300 animals was large enough, even, to support subsistence hunting. But back in the 80s, something started to happen. The population of these magnificent creatures began to decline.

In the early 90s, it was still possible to drive along the scenic Seward highway, south of Anchorage and spot what at first appeared to be white caps on the water, but on closer examination proved to be dozens of belugas making their merry way up, or down the Inlet. Clusters of motor homes would park at rest stops and scenic overviews and tourists and locals alike would stand, binoculars pressed to faces, smiling and gasping with delight. Whale watching from the road – it didn’t get any better than that.

~Cook Inlet beluga calf and mother [Photo from NOAA]

As the 90s wore on, these commonplace sightings grew less frequent. Between 1994 and 1998, the Native subsistence hunt took almost half the remaining population of 650 whales, and it was clear that if something didn’t change soon, the whales would be gone. The Native villages on Cook Inlet stopped the hunt altogether.

The state argued that after the hunting ceased, the whales would rebound, and everything would be fine. The last thing they wanted was for some pesky newly endangered species to halt things like the Anchorage Port expansion, or the Knik Arm Bridge, or oil and gas exploration in the Inlet.

Ten years passed, and the whales’ numbers still hovered around 400 – less than 1/3 of their population 20 years before. Clearly, there was something else going on, and stopping the hunt did not have the desired effect. The National Marine Fisheries Service declared the whales endangered.

In October of 2008, then Governor Sarah Palin decided she’d had enough of these rubbery white pains in the butt getting in the way of her “drill baby, drill” plans, and decided to do what she had already done with the polar bears – deny the facts and sue the feds. She had her very own “white whale.”

So she, and now Gov. Parnell have loosened up Alaska’s purse strings, NOT to determine what the cause of the problem is, but to litigate the belugas to death.  See, finding a solution that would return the whales to a healthy population size, and thereby make it much easier to push forward their development projects might mean inconveniencing the oil and gas industry. Shhhhhh. We don’t want to disturb them with stuff like this. The State suing the Feds on their behalf is much better for them. They like it.

Before you start thinking that this is all some great cosmic mystery and you have to have mystical whale whispering knowledge, or a PhD in some esoteric subject to figure out where to start, realize that all you have to know is this:

Cook Inlet is the only coastal waterbody in the United States where EPA allows the oil and gas industry to dump toxic drilling and production wastes into important subsistence, commercial and recreational fisheries. When Congress passed the Clean Water Act in 1972, it established five-year terms for discharge permits, with the intent that technology would improve over time and pollution eventually would be eliminated. However, according to the groups who brought the challenge to the oil and gas industry permit — Cook Inletkeeper, United Cook Inlet Drift Association, Cook Inlet Fishermen’s Fund, the Native Village of Port Graham, and the Native Village of Nanwalek — the current permit vastly increases the amount of toxic dumping in Cook Inlet compared to the previous permit. The industry is now authorized to discharge approximately 100,000 gallons of oil and over 835,000 pounds of toxic metals each year.

Maybe it’s just me, but 835,000 pounds of toxic metals and 100,000 gallons of oil every single year being dumped into the 180-mile body of water where the whales live just might be part of the problem. It’s a wild guess.  And that’s not including accidental spills, or leaks that happen on a regular basis. So, while the people of Alaska have been paying the bill for this frivolous lawsuit, and while Sean Parnell has been sticking his fingers in his ears, the dumping continues. Since Native Villages decided to stop hunting, about 83.5 million pounds of toxic metals, and a million gallons of oil have been dumped into the whales’ habitat. And it was all perfectly legal.

Why, oh why are they not recovering? If only we knew! Nature sure is mysterious.

To no one’s surprise, a federal judge told Sean Parnell today that yes, the fact that there are only 400 whales left and there used to be 1,300, and the fact that the thing he said would bring them all back had little or no effect, means the whales are indeed endangered. And whether or not keeping them from becoming extinct hurts economic development, it doesn’t change the facts.

Alaska’s Cook Inlet beluga whales were correctly listed as endangered, a federal judge ruled Monday, rejecting a state lawsuit that claimed the listing will hurt economic development.

In this world, shipmates, sin that pays its way can travel freely, and without a passport; whereas Virtue, if a pauper, is stopped at all frontiers.

–MOBY DICK, Chapter IX

Stay tuned for the next chapter.

Apparently someone put something in Don Young’s oatmeal this week. OK, yes… he’s got something in his oatmeal every week, but this week he got an extra helping. Or perhaps he jus needs a bran muffin instead. Or perhaps the propeller beanie he wore to the Resources hearing a few days ago was a liiiitle too tight.

Whatever the reason, our “Congressman for All Alaska” was busily at his favorite hobby of seeing how many Alaskans he can get to put bags over their heads.

This time, his display came when speaking with Dr. Douglas Brinkley, an “ivory tower elite,” known to the rest of the world as an “educated person.”

Here’s the background.

Republicans in the House have a plan. They’d like to increase oil production and use some of the money to build and repair infrastructure projects. One of the places they’d like to increase production is on Alaska’s northern coastal plain, in an area known as ANWR – the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Democrats also have a plan. They’d like to roll back subsidies that the oil companies are now getting, and use that money to fund infrastructure projects. They argue that whatever the country would get from new development like ANWR would fall far short of what is necessary to make a real difference, and that the oil companies who are making money hand over fist can afford to chip in a lot more.

Let it be said that the vast majority of Alaskans are all for drilling ANWR – Republicans, Democrats, Independents, it doesn’t matter. So, Alaska’s congressional delegation in its various incarnations over the years has been fighting tooth and nail to get this done. Whoever manages to be the catalyst for drilling in ANWR can count themselves Senator or Congressman for life.

Many in the Lower 48 are opposed to this plan. ANWR has become the symbol of wilderness, the last spot on which the environmental movement will make their stand, stick their flag in the ground, and die on the principle that there are some wild places, remote and desolate or not, that we should just leave alone. So, how Alaska’s congressional delegation chooses to handle this touchy situation is critical. Is there any way to develop Alaska’s resources in this area, and somehow make it okay with environmentalists? Negotiations such as this are tricky, as you can imagine. Diplomacy, kid gloves, compromise, concession, and thinking outside the box will all be necessary to make everyone happy.

I’ve often wondered if there wasn’t some way to do it. For instance, oil drilling on the rest of Alaska’s north slope has certain benefits for Alaskans. Offshore drilling doesn’t. In that case we take all of the risk and get none of the reward except for some jobs that may or may not go to Alaskans. But onshore, a portion of the money made by the oil companies goes into Alaska’s Permanent Fund. This money is invested by clever, capable people, and the dividend is shared with all Alaskans. Every man, woman and child gets a check every year with which they may invest in their children’s future education, donate to charity, buy a plasma TV, take a trip, or stash it away for a rainy day.

Is there some way to take a healthy chunk of profits from drilling in ANWR (on shore) and put it towards a green energy permanent fund, where we can develop and implement some of the massive changes we’ll need to get ourselves off the petroleum-based dead end energy resource track we’re on? Is there a safe (surely safer than offshore drilling amid floating pack ice as Shell will soon be doing in the Arctic) way to tap that reserve fast, and get the hell out? Perhaps this kind of targeted green energy investment would speak to the environmental movement and Democrats in the House more than road projects would? What if we developed electric cars, or built wind farms, or explored the possibilities for tidal energy, geothermal, or solar…?

Fossil fuels are a finite resource whether we, or the oil companies, would like to believe it. So, how can we develop what we have now in a safe, directed and intentional way to save our hind quarters when all that is gone? There are many smart people, with many good ideas. Can’t we ratchet back subsidies like the Democrats want, AND develop certain places like the Republicans want? We’re innovative people. All it takes is someone from Alaska to explain, and propose forward-thinking solutions in a way that speaks to all people…

It takes someone like… not Don Young. He loves yelling at people who disagree with him, especially environmentalists whom he has referred to collectively as:

“… a self-centered bunch of waffle-stomping, Harvard-graduating, intellectual idiots” who “are not Americans, never have been Americans, never will be Americans.”

But this time, one of those waffle-stompers (a reference to the imprints left by hiking boots) actually yelled back, and the Congressman didn’t like it much. The man in question is Dr. Douglas Brinkley, a professor and historian from Rice University. He opposes drilling in the Refuge, and has written a book on the subject.

The congressman starts off optimistically:

Young: If you ever want to see an exercise in futility, it’s this hearing. That side’s already made up its mind. This side has already made up its mind. And the, I call it garbage Dr. Rice… It comes from a mouth…

Brinkley: It’s Dr. Brinkley. Rice is a university. I know you went to Yuba college and couldn’t graduate.

Young: I’ll call you anything when you sit in that chair! You understand? You just be quiet!

Brinkley: Why?

Young: You be quiet!

Brinkley: Why? You don’t own me.! I pay your salary. I work for the private sector, you work for the taxpayer.

Here we must pause to enjoy the exact moment that Don Young and the staffer behind him react to the “You don’t own me” line.

At this point, Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.), the chairman of the committee reprimanded Brinkley and tried to gavel things back to order, telling him if he wanted to continue to be present he would follow the rules.

The Washington Post noted:

Young resumed, virtually spitting his words: “What I am suggesting, Mr. Brinkley. . .” And then went on for a few minutes, calling the prof an ivory-tower elite who doesn’t really know Alaska and describing the Arctic plain as a desolate, “nothing” kind of place that most Alaskans, he said, want to see drilled. The congressman also chided Brinkley for an earlier comment about Young’s absence from the room during his testimony — he was at a vote — and they kind of got into it again: “Don’t mention my name!” Young hissed.

So Brinkley didn’t. But he got his swipes in indirectly later in the hearing, contradicting statements from “the congressman who’s yet again left — doesn’t stay, blows smoke and then leaves.” That got a stronger reprimand from Hastings, who told the historian he was “disrespectful.”

A spokesman for Young later called the episode “a publicity stunt by Mr. Brinkley in order to sell books.” Witnesses, he said, “are invited to testify before Congress to answer questions and provide insight, not repeatedly interrupt.”

Brinkley was unapologetic when we reached him, calling Young “a crazy zealot for molesting the refuge” and saying he wished he “could have gone mano-a-mano” with him. “I was hoping for the chance to get into a heated debate with him, but, alas, it’s hard in that forum.”

Young: Now I have been all over that area.

Brinkley: I know you have.

Young: The Arctic plain is really nothing. You say it’s the heart, it’s not the heart.

Brinkley: I disagree with that.

Young: It’s part of the most deficit [sic] part of the area. And what hurts me the most, you sit there in the Rice University, when the people support drilling for their good and the good of the nation, as a college professor and ivory tower. You can go up there and camp and spend your time, and I hope you spent a lot of money. But the reality is this area should be drilled. I’ve been fighting this battle for 39 years.

Here is the video from CNN, clipped to the four minutes that were by far the most popcorn-worthy, and in which Don Young describes himself as “really pissed.”

Yes, we noticed.

“Destroying a wild salmon stream to sell coal to China is about the worst idea in Alaska’s proud history of salmon protection.  We’ve always promoted responsible mines.  But this one is irresponsible,” said Representative Les Gara, of state plans allowing dredging of eleven miles of the Chuitna River’s tributaries to keep moving forward.

We couldn’t agree more.

On October 26, Gara wrote to Governor Sean Parnell and Commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources Dan Sullivan (no relation to the hinky Mayor) seeking proof of any wild salmon streams that have been so badly dredged, and that have fully recovered.  So far… crickets.

Here is the letter sent by Rep. Gara, an avid fisherman and published Alaska fishing writer.

Re: State Decision to Let Dredging Of Chuitna King Salmon Waters Move Forward Dear Governor Parnell and Commissioner Sullivan:

Alaska has a good track record of responsible mining, at least since statehood. We’ve developed Red Dog Mine, Ft. Knox, Kensington and others, with little if any wild fisheries impact (Kensington has a detrimental impact on hatchery, not wild fish), and have jealously guarded our fish. The Governor promised he would never trade Alaska’s fish for another resource.

But that has all changed with this week’s decision to destroy 11 miles of one of the best king salmon streams in the State of Alaska – the Middle Fork tributary of the Chuitna River by Tyonek.

I was deeply disheartened by the recent DNR decision to allow the Chinese Chuitna Coal Mine project to move ahead, which occurred over the objections of the Village of Tyonek and many fishing organizations. Not since statehood has the state allowed a mining project to move ahead that would destroy a wild king salmon riverbed. The argument – that 25 years after destruction, the stream can be re-built – seems erroneous, and takes away a prized fishing stream for a generation of Alaskans.

I would ask for the following information:

1. What is the statutory authority that allows the destruction of a salmon bed for 25 years, and what are the standards for rebuilding it?

2. In 2004 Governor Murkowski’s commissioner’s weakened the “no pollution in mixing zones” regulation that forbade pollutants in salmon streams. Can you please provide me with a copy of the replacement regulations?

3. What are the examples of wild king salmon streams that have had 11 miles completely dredged (which will drop lethal sediment into the lower parts of the river), and then restored back to their original legal of production with wild, and not hatchery fish?

I worry this state has lost its way. Until 2004 we had the strongest fisheries protection standards in the world, and it’s no mistake that we have the strongest fish runs in the world. In 2004 Governor Murkowski changed the law. Your administration has now threatened to move ahead with two projects, Pebble Mine and the Chuitna Coal Project, that will destroy a way of life for local residents, and threaten to vastly damage this state’s prized king and red salmon, trout and other fish that subsistence, commercial and sport fishermen rely upon.

While I suppose we disagree on these projects, I would like the information I have asked for.

Thank you.

Rep. Les Gara

Thanks to Rep. Gara for standing up for one of the few issues all Alaskans can agree on – keeping healthy stocks of wild fish for future generations.