Drilling in Alaska
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Drilling in the Alaskan
Wilderness
MT310-05
Byron Masters
The stakeholders in this case are all the people on the planet, the Alaskan environment and wildlife, and the American government. The decision makers are the voters of the United States, the U.S Legislators, and the President of the United States.
The ethical concerns of this case are, do we allow oil exploration on lands set aside as a wildlife refuge to feed a oil starved nation, and if we do allow drilling and exploration how will this impact the lands of the Wildlife refuge, and the animals who reside there. This is an ethical issue because if affects all the people on the planet, and all the animals life.
The environmental concerns are how the wildlife will be affected by development of the ANWR. Will it impact the caribou herds if drilling platforms and pipelines are erected on the wildlife habitat? The question is, are we serving the greater good by preserving wildlife and habitat for future generation, or for providing fuel for an oil hungry nation whos demand for oil will only increase not matter how much oil is discovered. I think the environmental stakeholders responsibility is to preserve these wildlife refuges for the people who live in these areas, and for our nation as a whole. The corporations responsibility if they are allowed to develop these areas are to minimize the impact their operations will have on the habitat of the wildlife in the area, and to safe guard the environment in the eventuality of a accident. The Native American population and residents of Alaska would undoubtedly benefit from the development, and the revenue generated by drilling and pumping oil, but there will undoubtedly be some impact to the environment and for every person who gains there will be someone who loses. The corporation if allowed to drill could use the latest technology to minimize the impact on the environment, they could also implement a ecological repair program to restore habitat that has been damaged by drilling activities along with a quick response team that quickly responds to contamination caused drilling and pumping activities. I would also think a wildlife rescue program to help injured or trapped animals would be a nice gesture.
My recommendation on this case would have to