| |
N0KFQ > TODAY 20.06.14 16:00l 78 Lines 3778 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 23899_N0KFQ
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Jun 20
Path: IZ3LSV<I0OJJ<GB7CIP<N0KFQ
Sent: 140620/1458Z 23899@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQK1.4.60
Jun 20, 1977:
Oil flows in Alaska
With a flip of a switch in Prudhoe Bay, crude oil from the
nation's largest oil field begins flowing south down the
trans-Alaska pipeline to the ice-free port of Valdez, Alaska. The
steel pipeline, 48 inches in diameter, winds through 800 miles of
Alaskan wilderness, crossing three Arctic mountain ranges and
hundreds of rivers and streams. Environmentalists fought to
prevent its construction, saying it would destroy a pristine
ecosystem, but they were ultimately overruled by Congress, who
saw it as a way of lessening America's dependence on foreign oil.
The trans-Alaska pipeline was the world's largest privately
funded construction project to that date, costing $8 billion and
taking three years to build.
In 1968, a massive oil field was discovered on the north coast of
Alaska near Prudhoe Bay. Located north of the Arctic Circle, the
ice-packed waters of the Beaufort Sea are inaccessible to oil
tankers. In 1972, the Department of the Interior authorized
drilling there, and after the Arab oil embargo of 1973 plans
moved quickly to begin construction of a pipeline. The Alyeska
Pipeline Service Co. was formed by a consortium of major oil
companies, and in 1974 construction began.
U.S. conservation groups argued that the pipeline would destroy
caribou habitats in the Arctic, melt the fragile
permafrost--permanently frozen subsoil--along its route, and
pollute the salmon-rich waters of the Prince William Sound at
Valdez. Under pressure, Alyeska agreed to extensive environmental
precautions, including building 50 percent of the pipeline above
the ground to protect the permafrost from the naturally heated
crude oil and to permit passage of caribou underneath.
On June 20, 1977, oil began flowing down the pipeline. It got off
to a rocky start, however, as power supply problems, a cracked
section of pipe, faulty welds, and an unsuccessful dynamite
attack on the pipeline outside of Fairbanks delayed the arrival
of oil at Valdez for several weeks. In August, the first oil
tanker left Valdez en route to the lower 48 states. The
trans-Alaska pipeline proved a great boon to the Alaskan economy.
Today, about 800,000 barrels move through the pipeline each day.
Altogether, the pipeline has carried more than 14 billion barrels
of oil in its lifetime.
For its first decade of existence, the pipeline was quietly
applauded as an environmental success. Caribou populations in the
vicinity of the pipeline actually grew (due in part to the
departure of grizzly bears and wolves scared off by the pipeline
work), and the permafrost remained intact. The only major oil
spill on land occurred when an unknown saboteur blew a hole in
the pipe near Fairbanks, and 550,000 gallons of oil spilled onto
the ground. On March 24, 1989, however, the worst fears of
environmentalists were realized when the Exxon Valdez ran aground
in the Prince William Sound after filling up at the port of
Valdez. Ten million gallons of oil were dumped into the water,
devastating hundreds of miles of coastline. In the 1990s, the
Alaskan oil enterprise drew further controversy when the Alyeska
Pipeline Service Co. attempted to cover up electrical and
mechanical problems in the aging pipeline.
In 2001, President George W. Bush proposed opening a portion of
the 19-million-acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, east of
Prudhoe Bay, to oil drilling. The proposal was greeted with
overwhelming opposition from environmental groups and was
initially defeated. In 2006, however, the Senate voted 51-49 in
favor of a budget resolution that included billions for Arctic
drilling. Environmental advocacy groups continue to fight the
legislation.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
Using Outpost Ver 2.8.0 c42
Read previous mail | Read next mail
| |
