The Alaska Democratic Party is exploring amending its platform to call for an end to all oil drilling and fracking in the state, according to documents obtained by The Daily Wire, via Must Read Alaska, which published supporting documents earlier this month that show the direction the party is heading with its climate platform.
The Daily Wire, which has millions of readers every day, wrote a news report about the Alaska State Democratic Party’s Climate Caucus, which is working on changes to the party platform in which the party may call for a complete end to oil development in Alaska. That platform will be voted on by delegates to the party’s state convention, which takes place in Juneau on May 18.
One member of the caucus, Tim Hinterberger, a professor at the University of Alaska at Anchorage, proposed that the party delete a statement from its current platform that pledges support for “responsible oil development performed in a manner that protects our fish, game, and wildlife resources.” He said in his notes that no oil is the only responsible path.
Rick Whitbeck, Alaska state director for Power the Future, was quoted in the story, calling the move “radical and irresponsible.”
“Alaska would quickly be bankrupt if our petroleum industry was shuttered. Nearly 20% of our private-sector workforce is paid – directly or indirectly – by oil and gas development revenues, so you’d see a mass exodus of people as well,” Whitbeck told The Daily Wire. “Philanthropy would dry up, our vibrant arts and culture programs would go unfunded and our infrastructure would crumble without revenues to keep them maintained.”
