Last month, I gave a presentation on challenges related to moving energy in the arctic, including moving arctic natural gas to North American markets, at a U.S. government High North Conference hosted by the U.S. European Command.
Experts discussed emerging arctic issues ranging from climate change to increased shipping, from seabed resources to international engagement, from research to strategic public diplomacy. Given my background with the Coast Guard, the Department of Transportation and now Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects, I was asked to address challenges related to the safe and environmentally secure delivery of energy resources.
As Alaska residents appreciate, the arctic is an amazing and complex ecosystem with unique characteristics and extensive natural resources. Although it seems obvious, its defining, but not always appreciated, characteristics include extreme cold and seasonal darkness not experienced by most on our planet. At 40 below, Fahrenheit and Centigrade temperature scales register the same, and 40 degrees below F/C poses unique challenges to any activity. Other fundamental challenges include vast distances, storms that dominate any operation, limited port, airport/ telecommunications/road infrastructure and brief summers. All add enormous costs. The arctic also is an ocean undergoing significant change. Sea ice has been diminishing and marine life is changing.
These factors, and the enduring concerns of indigenous people who have lived successfully in the arctic for thousands of years, affect arctic development and transportation.
Energy development in the U.S. arctic is not new. For 40 years, challenges have been met, and technology for exploration, development and transportation has steadily improved. For a natural gas pipeline, discontinuous permafrost and seismic pose particular challenges, but do not appear insurmountable.
By virtue of Alaska’s place on the globe, America is an arctic nation with broad, fundamental interests in the region. National security, economic development, environmental and natural resource issues, and resident indigenous people make the capability to anticipate and address the benefits and consequences of arctic activities essential. And, the proximity of other arctic nations makes close and forward-looking international cooperation imperative, whether the issue is natural gas or anything else.
