Kudos to all who got behind ConocoPhillips’ effort to open up Willow. The effort by our delegation to present directly to President Biden, and our record of responsible resource development over the past 40 years in Alaska’s arctic, is a reflection on the bipartisan effectiveness of our Alaska delegation. We are not over the goal line yet. We must be wary of the coming onslaught of outraged extreme environmental groups who will go to any means to delay and block the project. These same groups seem to prefer we get our oil directly from the Mideast, Venezuela, Africa or even Russia. These folks are being unrealistic and would have us theoretically walk, rather than fly or take trains or buses or even ride our snowmachines.
Yes, Americans must develop the technology to reduce emissions and dependency on fossil fuels. We’re working on alternative energy sources, and I hope our creative young people will rise to that challenge. However, that doesn’t happen overnight, and we need fuel for our economy while we make that transition.
In the meantime, there’s a wake-up call for Americans in a recent announcement by the Saudi government. The profits of their government-owned oil company Aramco are at an all-time high of more than $600 billion in earnings. They’re putting much of it into a development fund, similar to Alaska’s Permanent Fund. The Saudis are using their oil earnings to make more money — and the U.S. is helping to foot the bill.
— Frank Murkowski
Former Alaska governor and U.S. senator
Wrangell
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