June 12, 2001  -  Enough is Enough  -  Prudhoe Bay and Fairbanks, Alaska

I'm happy to leave Prudhoe Bay. I've smelled enough diesel fuel, heard enough industrial noise, choked on enough gravel road dust and seen enough destruction of the fragile arctic tundra. Regardless of newer "cleaner" technology, oil extraction is disruptive to the North Slope ecosystem. Human activity and its associated waste attract grizzly bears, arctic foxes, ravens and gulls. These wild animals can become conditioned to garbage dumps and handouts, which disrupt their natural diet and behavior. A concentration of these predators can have unnaturally large impacts on ground-nesting birds and their eggs. Most female caribou do not calve near oil facilities.

America devours 17.7 million barrels of oil and petroleum products a day or 6.5 billion barrels every year. Yes, we need oil. But where do we draw the line? Oil operations on Alaska's North Slope emit 56,000 tons of nitrogen oxides each year, more than twice the amount emitted in Washington, DC. These oxides contribute to smog and acid rain. In addition, 10-12 million tons of carbon -- a greenhouse gas component -- are released into the atmosphere annually. Hundreds of spills involving tens of thousands of gallons of crude oil, other petroleum products and hazardous waste occur every year.

At what point do we decide that enough is enough? Do we wait until we've exhausted every bit of the North Slope? We still have a chance with the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to preserve an intact undisturbed arctic ecosystem. Are we capable of improving fuel efficiency, curbing our oil consumption and developing alternative energy sources? I think so.