By RICK WHITBECK | POWER THE FUTURE
As first reported by Suzanne Downing in Must Read Alaska, the Alaska Democratic Party is saying the quiet part out loud in their fight against traditional energy, and considering making their platform fossil fuel-free.
Changes to both Republican and Democratic state platforms are considered and ratified at biannual conventions of party activists, but proposed changes are tossed around throughout the time in-between.
Over the past few weeks, the Democrats’ Climate Caucus, a standing committee comprised of eco warriors on their State Central Committee, have been editing their party platform.
The changes are shocking.
The picture above is a screenshot of just some of those proposed changes, including a complete deletion of the plank dealing with oil and gas development. Tim Hinterberger, a professor at the University of Alaska, Anchorage and a well-known anti-development activist, sums up his thoughts in a comment, shown below: “At this advanced stage of climate disruption, no oil development is responsible.”
Will the rest of the Democrats support the radical changes to the platform? We’ll stay on top of things between now and their 2024 convention. This document, when completed, will be the litmus test they vet candidates for public office against. If they insist on looking to eliminate the industry that pays for nearly 25% of all private-sector employees and over 40% of state government, it will be interesting to see how their preferred candidates react.
Rick Whitbeck is Alaska state director for Power the Future.
How are all these people protesting oil getting around?
uh Lears, Gulfstreams
Yes, how did they arrive in Juneau…was it a jet fuel airplane or powerboat? Did they walk over to the Capitol building by foot or did they use a vehicle that didn’t support children and old people scrabbling cobalt out of a mine in Africa? Were they wearing any clothing, backpack or shoes made from petroleum products? I suppose many of these ‘pie in the sky’ folks are the very same who left logic on the table during the pandemic. It feels like we’re stuck in a Jim Jones horror flick.
I still say they need to have gas and electric shut off on any of their houses and offices.
If they want to end fossil fuels so bad I say help them and shut it off.
Ah yes… Pictured in front of the Alaska State Capitol,,,,Juneau’s leading citizens hard at work.
I always like looking at pictures of these eco warriors who want to end petroleum products. All dressed in petroleum based fibers like nylon, rayon, and polyesters. Most of which are imported from China and elsewhere, brought here by barge. They all appear well fed so they enjoy imported food, again by barges. This is where indoctrination gets you.
I’ll bet they also eat warm food too. And live in warm houses. And drive cars to the protests. And coordinate with their cel-phones. etc… etc… etc…
You make a good point Jim. I agree with you.
Question for all the Dems supporting this platform…Are you going to give up your PFD?
And their high-end recreational gear and equipment made from oil/petro-chemicals. Including the sarcophaguses on the roof that btw decrease MPG.
Look at the age of these morons. This is easy. Take away ALL THINGS made from oil and gas .. Plastic for your cell phones, make up, clothing, everyday items .. Let’s take all that away from them as they do not understand even where it’s coming from. No more cars or trucks for them, no jets, no vacations…. It’s the stupidest thing to ever get started. It’s embarrassing to live in an oil and gas state with liberal pukes like these immature turds! You don’t like it go back to Seattle or California!!! Move the CAPITOL!!!
I’m happy with moving the capital, but wonder what you’ll say when the same thing occurs in larger numbers in Anchorage?
Yes, the capitol should be moved to Bethel of Kotzebue.
Mark, I like how you think 😉
These legislators are joining the protesting? How is this any different than someone going in to talk to legislators and being accused of special treatment or “influencing” legislators?
Did they quit using their cars and trucks. Did they turn off their heat and light that are supplied by good old fossil fuels. Did they get a PFD and cashed it? Democrats are anti-Alaska. They want the state to be a national park for leftist liberals.
I hope they get what they want. Most of them will freeze or starve during the first winter.
Placarding is not freedom of political speech. It is freedom of jingoism. Jingoist is not even speech. Speech is speech. You talk. I listen and persuade onlookers and one another by our perhaps vociferous, dissonant reasoning on a prevailing viewpoint. That is not possible with mere quips and jingoisms on cards. It is socially popular in lieu though and gives a false appearance of preferred exclusivity of political speech.
Gen X (the 1980’s-early 1990s graduates and Millennials those early 2000s graduates, they are narcissistic and dreamers. Unrealistic bunch.
That’s our education business.
Jen, I am so tired of reading your labels of “age groups. Sad that your life revolves around these labels.
I’m glad boomer leaders are still here. Please don’t retire. You aren’t allowed. Boomers must work until death. If a boomer experienced in their profession or leadership did retire. You must go back to work. Imagine America when boomers are 90? and there being less of them like there are less WW2 generation today cause the surviving members are over 90 to see GenX and millennials are 60 and 80. That’ll be an awful season for the world. I’d hope the rapture will had already occurred.
Boomers are the root cause of all the world’s problems.
Cute! How old are you 12?
Ignorance and greed are the predominate root causes of the world’s problems and they have been around since man first walked upright. Both are currently very dominate in the younger generations as well.
I protest- pay me,
I am a victim -give me stuff for free
Get rid of oil and gas, but I want my cellphone, EV and NorthFace jacket!
Grow up and take some responsibility!
Even Democrats can’t stomach the anti everything bunch. You need look no further than the recent AFN Convention that lost most of their main Regional Corporations, because of AFNs radical stance on energy and development.
Look at the the Belle of the Ball, Mary Peltola. She wouldn’t even stand and fight for the various groups of Native voices, testifying in person in Washington DC last week.
AFN and Mary Peltola are out of touch.
Thanks for pointing that out Willy.
It is very frustrating to watch the level of support given to her by natives all across the interior and most importantly in the northern regions where the development of resources on THEIR land is being continually sidetracked by her and the group of leftists who shouldnt have any bearing on decisions made.
The false information they are using and the scare tactics alone are disgusting and should not be allowed in the debate.
The worst is Deb Hollands attack on Alaska’s oil and gas development when her home state of New Mexico has thrust themselves into 2nd place nationwide with the number of leases sold and infrastructure built to put them near the top producer.
She has simply declared war on Alaskan Native energy development as a tool to thrust her tribe into the leading producer with the financial benefit that goes along with it.
Alaskan Natives just cant picture it and Mary Peltola’s support for that.
Mary would rather supprt the “free money” handouts such as Quintillion internet cable stretching everywhere given to the native corps. at taxpayer expense instead of them becoming energy independent on their own.
You certainly won’t see them rallying to stop the fossil fuel burning cruise ships that invade Juneau all summer long.
Actually they want to curtail those also. I guess we should all be living in caves eating raw food.
Where will they get their stylish clothes from North face, Patagonia, their iPhone and other such products, which are made from, oil? No oil, no funds for the state, say bye bye to department of education, health and human services being propped up by our economy’s largest contributor. Fishing and tourism are tiny compared to the north slope.
Unbelievable!!
Unabashed hypocrisy on diisplay.
Of course oil is not going away anytime soon, even though it does damage to the climate, and to the planet. At this stage of human development and technology, it’s not really possible. But in view of our current knowledge of its impacts at a global scale, why not try to find alternate means of energy production and reduce its use where possible? That’s just plain old common sense, and what Humankind has been doing since its naissance. We no longer use whale oil lamps because electricity came along. We no longer ride horses to work because automobiles were invented. We now get (some) energy directly from the sun using solar panels instead of burning coal and oil. So things change with time. And in the future there will quite likely be nuclear fusion to move us even further from the hydrocarbon age (see the ITER project being built in France).
What grates about this article (which seems to have been quickly whipped out while on deadline), is that the author refuses to frame the situation in a moderate light as I have outlined. Instead, he goes with a political all-or-nothing approach in order to rouse the rabbles, which is what this publication requires of him, and because that’s what he get’s paid to do as a mouthpiece for the Alaska oil industry. The tone and shallowness of this article makes one wonder what he really knows about energy, except that it employs him, pays his bills, and provides him with a nice little PFD check every October.
HL says: “Of course oil is not going away anytime soon, even though it does damage to the climate, and to the planet.”
What sort of damage does it do the the environment? Please show your work. Note that oil is a natural substance, perhaps the second most common liquid on the planet after water. Given that most oil finds were originally done at oil seeps, production is better described as environmental cleanup rather than destruction.
HL goes on to say: “We no longer use whale oil lamps because electricity came along.”
Wrong. We no longer use whale oil because oil came along. We all owe JD Rockefeller a profound thanks for saving the whale population worldwide. Electricity followed oil. Nice try, though. Cheers –
What sort of damage does it do to the environment?
– Been to the Niger Delta? Baku and the Caspian Sea? The Gulf of Mexico during the spill there? Prince William Sound during the Exxon Valdez spill? I have. And don’t forget global CO2 increase and the impact it will have on the climate.
Note that oil is a natural substance, perhaps the second most common liquid on the planet after water. Given that most oil finds were originally done at oil seeps, production is better described as environmental cleanup rather than destruction.
– That is true, but most of the billions of barrels produced were originally buried thousands of feet beneath the earth and were isolated from the surface environment. If you think it’s natural and won’t do damage, why not put it on your breakfast cereal?
HL goes on to say: “We no longer use whale oil lamps because electricity came along.” Wrong. We no longer use whale oil because oil came along. We all owe JD Rockefeller a profound thanks for saving the whale population worldwide.
– Lighting is powered mainly by electricity, which comes from a variety of sources, including many that are not based in burning of hydrocarbons.
I sense that you do not like the Future, but it is coming whether you like it or not.
“The author refuses to frame the situation in a moderate light as I have outlined”.
Ok Hans we get it. It’s your way or no way.
The author of the subject article has the expressed luxury of presenting his opinion on the subject as He feels (thanks to free speech and Suzanne) which is also the reason I dont read ADN (nothing worth reading and no one can read it without paying for it).
If you are so inclined to respond to his article condemning his point of view why arent you taking the time to writing articles with research provided to back up your opinion as he did instead of just discrediting his (ADN will publish them for you)
The “tone and shallowness” of your response is deafening as like my mentors always said “opinions are like a**holes…everybody has one”.
The only credible statement by you was his nice “little” PFD check which is getting smaller as the dictators are claiming it is “theirs” to spend as they see fit because we obviously dont know how.
I really like what Texas is doing criminalizing the “chemtrail” spraying of particulates, chemical and organic aerosols in their atmosphere which affect the human steering of the atmospheric river causing strange patterns of floods never seen before. If the Democrats and rhinos of Alaska had not sold out their constituents we would be seeing identical passage of Texas legislation here in Alaska. But, we genuinely won’t see anything like that happening; just more, ineffective photos of feeble placcarding pulsing weakly through impotent social media gravitas.
Hey Hans, Coal Oil replaced Whale Oil long before electricity. Coal Oil developed by John D Rockefeller was much cheaper to produce than Whale Oil. 🐋 Apparently the market quickly realized the cost savings and switched to oil, which had the unintended benefit of SAVING the WHALES!
Free people and free markets moved by Adam Smith’s unseen hand always work better than your European Socialist, command economy. 😉
Maybe the Alaska Governor, Legislature and oil and gas agencies can really help the Homeless by changing the harsh oil and gas rules, red tape and laws that took Alaska and Texas from a tie in oil production in 1995 of a Million Barrels of Oil Per day to a massive increase with Texas having around 8 Million BOPD and Alaska falling to less than 500,000 BOPD?
Put some effort into this, and the money will be so great no one will have to be homeless in Alaska unless the fossil Fuel haters kill off the Alaskan oil and gas jobs as they have been doing since 1995
Developing the Willow field will have a negative balance to the State in the first few years due to low royalties and huge capital credits. We are giving away our renewable resources which in itself is a reason to turn to renewable resources
Oh “Frank”…
The best you got is you gotta spend money to make money? All businesses face that challenge starting something new.
You must be a lifetime civil servant. Or work at Burger King.
King Biden id doing exactly as you recommend.
He has opted out of American produced oil(except for Deb Hollands home state of course) and has chosen Venezuela as a source of “renewable resources” for “dirty oil” as well as a source of funding for the current dictator who is in favor of terrorist funded activities around the world.
It is much easier to get kickbacks using Hunter as the pawn in his game of bribery funding countries like Venezuela with our tax dollars.
You should look at the entire picture before condemning the little smudge in the corner.
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