Rick Whitbeck: Biden destroying Alaska economy for sake of reelection

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By RICK WHITBECK | POWER THE FUTURE

From the frequency of the attacks, one would think President Joe Biden has a personal vendetta against Alaska. In reality, he’s just trying to do anything he can to live at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for another four years. Even if that means continuing to harm the people of my state.

As Earth Day approached, Biden took three substantial actions in the two weeks prior — all targeting Alaska’s resource base. Recent polling shows young, climate-obsessed voters between 18-29 abandoning the president in droves, with the gap between he and President Trump down to 13 points, from a 30-point advantage at this time in 2020.

Those voters’ collective shrills have railed against the very few Biden decisions to allow traditional energy projects to move forward, including the Willow oil and gas development in Alaska. Something had to be done to help bring them back, so Team Biden went into action.

To begin with, in a game of “pass-the-buck,” the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers rejected an appeal from the Pebble Mine’s developers April 15, deciding instead that the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2023 veto of the project’s clean water permit was an action they couldn’t overturn.

Pebble is a copper, gold, molybdenum and rhenium asset that is housed completely on Alaskan land. It would bring up to 1,000 full-time jobs to an area of the state that seasonally has unemployment numbers averaging more than 10%. The economics of the mine – worth $350-500 billion in 2008 dollars and market conditions – could approach $1 trillion with today’s increased mineral prices. It has been fought for nearly two decades by environmental organizations, who will now see how the legal battle over Pebble will play out in federal court.

Then, the Department of Interior announced April 19 that it was making permanent the September 2023 temporary ban on all types of development for over 13 million acres in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A), an Indiana-sized part of Alaska’s North Slope, and the home to many of its more recent oil and gas finds.

Even before that announcement, Alaska’s bipartisan Congressional delegation, the Iñupiat Alaska Natives who live across the North Slope and the Alaska Legislature had tried to make their case for removing the protections. Nonetheless, with the decision, the vocal minority opposing NPR-A development won, and Alaskans lost.

That’s a whole lot of canceling for Alaska, especially when you consider much of it is for the components Biden needs for his green transition.

Doubling up on bad news for Alaska, the Interior Department administratively reversed course on a previously-approved 211-mile road to Alaska’s Ambler Access Project, showing they are simply anti-production.

Why else kill access to the Ambler Mining District, a federally authorized area known for decades to hold massive amounts of copper and other minerals needed to”go green?” Talk about a cancel culture.

From the day Biden assumed office, Alaska’s resource industry has been a key target of the his administration, with over 60 administrative and executive orders, or one action less than every three weeks in his term.

The actions have shuttered congressionally-approved projects from Alaska’s North Slope to its Southeast panhandle. They’ve put thousands of existing Alaskan jobs at risk, with thousands more potential ones placed in limbo. In fact, the only thing Joe Biden will mine in Alaska is feeble credibility with his green friends.

Between the NPR-A opportunities, Pebble and Ambler’s proposed projects, well over 5,000 jobs are now lost to Joe Biden’s pandering. But an equal number of climate-centric voters could have been even more disillusioned with the president during a key stretch of his reelection campaign, and right now, they’re more important than jobs, revenues and energy security.

Too bad the president would rather win an election than do what is right for Alaska and America.

Rick Whitbeck is the Alaska State Director for Power The Future, a national nonprofit organization that advocates for American energy jobs and fights back against economy-killing and family-destroying environmental extremism. Contact him at [email protected] and follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @PTFAlaska. This column first appeared in The Daily Caller.

52 COMMENTS

  1. What one man does another can undo. If people reelect Joe Biden they are crazy. Trump should win in a landslide.

    • Should, but won’t. The fix (ballots) is already in and the only way for a legitimate election is for people to DEMAND and stand to assure that no more windows at counting stations are covered with pizza boxes, no dripping pipe becomes an excuse to evacuate observers, no more suitcases of ballots come out from under the tables, no more truckloads of ballots mysteriously arrive in the dead of the night, and especially that no USB drives find their way into already corrupt Dominion machines. Watch Anchorage for a preview of what happens nationally. There might still be hope, but Trump needs 60% to beat the cheat.

      • Biden has already destroyed America. What happened to the promise of impeachment?
        Republicans are really missing the boat on Biden. Kamala Harris or Newsom could never beat Trump. And Biden’s kid, Hunter, should be in jail for income tax evasion.

        • Bat. What exactly has Biden done that justifies you saying that he “destroyed America”? I’m a liberal, so I tend to see the positive in Biden (it’s not all positive though), but destroyed America? I don’t see it.

          Here’s a second question if you wish to answer. Let’s say that every complaint you have about Biden is true and documented. Does that collection of information weigh greater than Trump and his followers and administration?

          OK. A third: Why do you think Biden should be impeached?

          • Do you have an hour?
            Biden taking money from influence peddling to Chinese through his drugged-up, perverted kid, during his time as VP. Stealing government documents while VP. Never paid any income taxes on the money he collected from China or Burisma. Let in 8.3 illegals who flooded our country and now collect welfare and full benefits as naturalized citizens. Has two wars going on that is draining US taxpayers. Gives money to Iran. Has allowed Chinese to steal our intellectual property and gain upper hand in balance of trade by lifting tariffs. Killed the XL Pipeline contract with Canada. Killed ANWR. Covered up the Covid scandal. Driving inflation and cost of production of goods and services. 35 trillion in debt. Trying to pay off student loans that SCt already said was unconstitutional. Sends his
            corrupt DOJ and phoney AG after frivolous charges on Trump. Effing low Joe Biden should be the one on trial, not Trump. Oh, not to mention that he’s an illigitimate president, having lost the 2020 election but for dangerous and corrupt allies like Hillary Clinton. And Barack Obama.
            Which outer ring of Saturn do you call home, Paola? Go read the true stories about your hero Joe Biden…….phoniest person to ever steal the White House.
            You must be a government drone or a thoroughly brainwashed Democrat.

            • 51 of Trump’s cabinet and higher ups are indicted or serving time. That doesn’t include the guppies that violently tried to break the constitution on J6. None of Trump’s former employees or appointees have endorsed him.

              Obviously, there are hundreds of crimes, gaffes and self-dealing I could list (recent favorite: “Gettysburg. Wow. “)

              I was following your list until you claimed that Biden is not the president. That means that you have abandoned the path of evidence , logic and reason. You are not credible.

    • I support Trump also, but it was Trump that killed the pebble mine through Army Corp. of Engineers permit denial, something Whitbeck seems not to acknowledge.
      In order to have a constructive analysis or conversation, we have to know the facts.

      • And if Pebble Mine has a spill and destroys the worlds largest salmon population who’s going to pay??

        • Jim; It’s not going to be pebble. Their disclaimer absolves them from any liability and responsibility what so ever.
          Toxic acid generated sulfide pollution starts immediately in the mining process.

      • The fact is , oil development on NorthSlope has surged under Biden . Shutting down drilling on Federal lands have forced the company’s to drill on state land . Four Wildcats drilled this winter on east side . Exploratory well spacing was 10 miles . Drilled in 70-80’s . Now because the price of oil is so high it’s forcing explorers on State lands . Pikka is on state land and in the next 48 months will produce 320,000 barrels per day ! NorthSlope is booming wether NPRA gets drilled or not !

  3. Trump won in a landslide last time. Votes were manufactured until Biden reached a completely laughable, impossible to believe 81 million. It would be no surprise to anyone if it happened again. He’ll break his own record – 100 million!

  7. I don’t know how much more proof people need to realize that Biden is an enemy of this country! Trump may have hurt your feelings but I do know that I want a bad a– President that will save this country and its people!
    TRUMP 2024🇺🇸🇺🇸

  8. I would say the same about Chris Rose at REAP and his disciples on the Chugach Board, Mark Wiggin and Jim Nordlund.

    If you want a better future vote for Todd Lindley and Dan Rogers to replace extreme liberals on the Chugach Board.

    • I heard Lindley speak in Soldotna. Total corporate shill. One of suggestions was to recall all the legislators.

  10. Everyone that I have asked if they believe Biden got 11 million more votes than Obama did in his reelection in 2012 go deafly silent.

  11. Just think, many insane outsiders that have infested our great state are cheering the dictator on. Destroying our economy effects all.

  14. The Left’s agenda is one of destruction for its own sake. They stand for nothing good or virtuous and they offer no vision. They produce nothing, thriving only on the misery of others. They are, in essence, a cancer that must be stopped before it spreads so far and wide that it has infected everything.

  15. Here in Anchorage, we’re surrounded by these Delusionary Dems.
    Every State, Muni, and Federal Agency is infected with them.
    In order to effectively clean this up, “Heads will have to Roll.”

  17. He’s carrying out the left’s vendetta against anything not part of the hive mind. Alaskans WhoDARE to diverge and try to do stuff and build things, which is Verboten!!!!

  18. Biden isn’t merely destroying Alaska, he is obliterating the United States at the behest of his masters. Will we continue to go gentle into his goodnight?

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