2-5-2020
On February 4, 2020, Nat Herz of Alaska’s Energy Desk reported that Governor Dunleavy is having a tiff with Goldman Sachs over their new environmental policy, which distances the banking corporation from Arctic oil exploration and production, especially in ANWR. Dunleavy’s response? - "We do a lot of business with Goldman Sachs…We’re going to have to reevaluate that, have a discussion with them.” Immediate actions taken by the Dunleavy administration resulted in $200,000-$300,000 losses to the big bank, and further actions may threaten millions more as the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation “has paid Goldman a total of $16.9 million in fees for managing a chunk of the Permanent Fund’s assets” over the last three years, according to Herz’s article.
Dunleavy is threatening Goldman Sachs with up to $17 million in losses? That sounds like a lot of money…
…until you consider that Goldman Sachs’ net worth is around $64,000,000,000…that’s 64 billion dollars with a “B”. $17M is about 0.027% of $64B. For perspective, if you make $100K per year, 0.027% of your income = $27. Which means that a $17 million loss does not constitute a significant threat to a $64B Corporation.
The farcical nature of this tiff reminds me of the scene in Austin Powers when Dr. Evil - after returning to the living world from cryogenic freezing - sticks his pinky finger in the corner of his mouth and demands a “one-million-dollar” ransom…and of course Number 2 has to inform him that their corporation earns more than that in a week…or something like that, you get the point: Dunleavy’s threat to Goldman Sachs is like the minnow threatening the whale.
It’s time that Alaskans start electing leaders with real leadership, whose arguments carry real weight, not empty threats. Dunleavy still describes Alaska as an “oil state”. While fossil fuels have figured dominantly in Alaska’s economy since the late 1950’s, they won’t last forever, and it has become apparent just how damaging they are to the environment and just how big a threat they are to civilization as we know it. We really need to diversify our economy for our own good, and for the good of the global environment.
So what does Alaska have that could possibly drive a long-term, sustainable economy?
For those of us who live here, we need only look outside to find out - majestic scenery and outdoor recreation opportunities abound here. And we - as a State - are doing almost nothing to build infrastructure to sustainably capitalize on this greatest of natural resources that is perfectly aligned with worldwide desire to reconnect with wild places.
Tourism and associated services industries consistently outrank extractive industries like oil & gas and mining in terms of revenue generated and economic development for most countries across the globe. Tourism ranks #2 to oil & gas in Alaska’s economic development to date.
Alaska certainly taps into this boon to some extent, but if the State devoted to tourism just a fraction of the attention it devotes to oil & gas, we could be well on our way to a sustainable economy - one much less dependent on the boom-bust cycle of oil & gas, and much less damaging to the environment.
Same goes for getting aggressive about building renewable energy infrastructures, supporting a robust public education system, marine highway system, healthcare system, environmental protections to ensure healthy fisheries and other resources, and networks of social programs. All of these systems contribute to a robust, healthy economy.
The key is to start electing leaders who aren’t stuck in the past. Start voting out the stagnant old guard who think of Alaska merely as an “oil state”.
There will be environmental impacts no matter what we do, so it is incumbent on us to find ways to create sustainable economies that strive to minimize those impacts. Our current State and National non-leaderships have actively suppressed industries, technologies, and science itself that strive to minimize our impacts, and they’ve done so just to make themselves richer.
It’s time to get real. Time to grow up. Time to be forward-thinking. Time to elect real leaders - leaders concerned with the well-being of the environment and the majority of Alaskans, not just their corporate executive buddies. The Republican GOP is a regressive party; it’s a stagnant old guard replete with decaying relics (think U.S. Congressman Don Young - 87 years of age, born in 1933, still representing Alaska). Dunleavy’s actions are of the same ilk - repeatedly demonstrating an old, decaying mindset - a one-dimensional focus on big oil. It’s time to change that loop in our collective conscientiousness and get started on building a diverse, sustainable economy.
