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9. Effects on the Human Environment
Pages 132-149

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From page 132...
... Arctic Elder Some effects on the human environment of oil and gas activities are analogous to effects on physical and biotic environments in that they are related in space and time to physical changes in the environment. But others differ in major ways because an effect on humans can occur without a physical change in the environment.
From page 133...
... In July, ARCO estimated the find as 9.6 billion barrels (Berry 1975~. The announcement of the discovery, the largest in the western hemisphere, was a catalyst for changes that affected the human environment of the North Slope and that increas ingly moved North Slope residents into the mainstream economy.
From page 134...
... However, the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC) would not be required to share resource revenues from its subsurface inholdings in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, because those lands were obtained in a land exchange (GAO 1989~.
From page 135...
... Accordingly, examination of any potential effects on subsistence resources is critical to the assessment of the accumulation of effects of energy development on the human environment. Development in the 1002 Area The Gwich'in Indians are traditionally a nomadic people who follow the migration of the Porcupine Caribou Herd.
From page 136...
... As an indication of the strength of their concerns, in 1988, in response to initial attempts to open the refuge, the Gwich'in Nation met in Arctic Village to draft a resolution petitioning Congress and the president to preserve the right of the Gwich'in people to their lifestyle by prohibiting development in the calving ground of the Porcupine Caribou Herd and to designate the 1002 Area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as wilderness. The residents of Kaktovik, who live on Barter Island at the northern edge of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge coastal plain, are generally in favor of environmentally sensitive development there, which could bring significant economic resources to them.
From page 137...
... Photograph by David Policansky. Alterations to the Lancl Alterations to the North Slope physical environment have had aesthetic, cultural, and spiritual effects on human populations.
From page 138...
... CUMULATIVE EFFECTS OF ALASKA NORTH SLOPE OIL AND GAS was by air, or by water during the late summer and early fall. Increases in settlement, agriculture, and forestry generally accompany road building in temperate and tropical areas, but for the North Slope the most relevant effect is the increased hunting pressure that accompanies roads (Box 9-1~.
From page 139...
... appear to leave the most visible scars. It is not known how long the tracks left by seismic activity will remain on the tundra; however, some of the tracks left in the 19841985 seismic surveys in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge are still visible.
From page 140...
... Wilclerness and Wilcilancis The only legally designated wilderness areas under study by the committee are a portion of the 3.2 million hectare (8 million acre) Mollie Beattie Wilderness that lies north of the Brooks Range within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and a small segment of Gates of the Arctic National Park north of Chandler Lake (Box 9-2)
From page 141...
... , there is little meaningful analysis of the consequences of development for the range of wildland values. Economic Benefits The cash economy of the North Slope Borough largely would not exist without oil and gas production.
From page 142...
... 142 CUMULATIVE EFFECTS OF ALASKA NORTH SLOPE OIL AND GAS Total Economic Value of WildIands ~~//~ ~ - ~ DIRECT USE COMMUNITY SCIENTIFIC OFF-SITE BIODIVERSITY ECOLOGICAL PASSIVE USE BENEFITS BENEFITS BENEFITS BENEFITS CONSERVATION SERVICES BENEFITS On e recreation Resew Dir1 use Human development Education Genetic Cultural-Heritage Management Intrinsic On-site hunting Commencal | Subsistence use Off-site hunting Non-recreation jobs Scenic viewsheds Retirement income Higher property values Watershed protection Recreation jobs Increased tax revenue Nutrient cycling Non-labor jobs Carbon storage Pest control 1 Pollu ~ Off-site consumption Option Bequest Existence of information in value value value books and magazines, 1 + and scenic beauty In ~ photos and videos Benefits from Future direct, indirect, knowledge of and off-line benefits ~ ~ continued existence Value of conserving wildlands for future generations 1 1 Habitat conservation Habitat Biodiversity conservation, Ecological services Endangered On-site recreation species, Wild Off-site hunting recreation Biodiversity On-site recreation Ecological services Archeological resources Decreasing "tangibility" of value to individuals FIGURE 9-1 SOURCE: Morton 1999. Reprinted with permission, copyright 1999, Denver Law Review.
From page 143...
... The ASRC and the village corporations have been and continue to be dominant economic forces on the North Slope. ASRC subsidiaries employ the overwhelming majority of North Slope residents who work in the oil and gas sector on the North Slope (Alaska Petroleum Contractors Inc.
From page 144...
... From the rich array of potential economic effects of oil and gas activities a few can be used to illustrate methods and types of data needed for economic evaluations: air pollution; altered spatial distributions of caribou and bowhead whales; and effects of long-lasting structures, roads, and trails on landscapes. Air Pollution A sample of time series emission data coupled with a diffusion model would help to establish where and how much air pollution North Slope residents are exposed to.
From page 145...
... Arctic Coastal Plain. The USGS has estimated that Arctic National Wildlife Refuge oil development would not be feasible if the price of North Slope oil is $15 per barrel ($0.36 per gal)
From page 146...
... Equivalently, from a national perspective, if oil development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (or elsewhere) should go forward, what is the highest value of accumulated environmental opportunities forgone that would not thwart this decision economically?
From page 147...
... Because employment in the oil industry has been minimal, adaptation effects on North Slope residents are slight. However, if North Slope residents were to move increasingly into oil-field jobs there will be consequences (primarily on families)
From page 148...
... · Proposals to explore and develop oil resources in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge have resulted in perceived risks to Gwich'in culture in Alaska and the Yukon Territory that are widespread, intense, and themselves are accumulating effects. The Gwich'in have a centuries-old nutritional and cultural relationship with the Porcupine Caribou Herd and oppose new onshore petroleum development that they believe threatens the caribou.
From page 149...
... that North Slope residents believe they experience as a result of oil and gas development.


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