energy

• there are more than 50 hydroelectric power stations that provide 1/5 of alaskan communities electricity of which previously glaciated u shaped valleys are perfect for
• alaska is a technically active region, being located on the 'pacific ring of fire' #
• this allows geothermal energy to be harnessed and there is a tourist resort near Fairbanks that is entirely powered by it
• alaska has large reserves of oil and gas, both on land and also offshore, the industry provides 100,000 jobs to alskans - every 1 in 7, although migrant workers take many of the jobs
• in Prudhoe bay only 400 of the 2000 available jobs go to locals
• the reserves of oil and gas contribute 1/3 of the annual state earnings and more than 90% of the taxes raised from this sector go towards wducation, health and policing
• oil drilling began in Prudhoe bay on alaskas north shore in 1977 after concerns over energy security in the USA to begin with 200 million barrels were produced and they transported them across a 800 km pipeline that travelled the country to the southern port of Valdez
• Oil tankers could not be used due to the amount of ice in the sea and the pipeline took 5 years and cost $8 billion to build
• protection measures were put in place to ensure the protection of the environment. the pipeline was raised off the ground on stilts that went 11 metres into the ground. suspension bridges were also put in to cross the rivers, including the 700m wide Yukon river
• the pipeline 'zigzags' which was put in on purpose so that it was flexible with possible ground movements from earthquakes
• oil production declined over time but it is still estimated that there is still between 6 and 16 billion barrels of oil which lie beneath the 80,000 square kilometers Arctic National Wildlife Refuge but as this area is home to polar bears, wolverines and snow geese, there has been fierce opposition to drilling here