… We Promise Not to Blow It This Time.

Well, not really. Powers that be here in Alaska are praying and avidly indicating their desire to prostitute themselves to get us a gas pipeline.

Now using natural gas instead of coal or oil is a good idea environmentally, but we don’t have to make it such a big project and export it. We could build us a small pipeline and just use it in state. Arlen Tussing, the renown resource economist, told me he thought we’d have between 500-1000 years of gas if only consumed in Alaska.

A smaller project would bring less of a shock to our economy and quality of life. Alaskans might even be able to fill most of the jobs, unlike big resource projects that bring all the Texans and Okies up here. Yes, I was here during the oil pipeline construction and what a mess it made of our infrastructure and pain and suffering to those who just wanted to live here.

Instead, in the land where taxes are only on landowners’ real estate, we’ll destroy our infrastructure and quality of life for a short term boom, which will of course be followed by a bust after all those folks that came up for the quick buck head back Outside.

Somewhat smaller projects such as the boondoggle Star Wars 2 project at Ft. Greely and military construction spurred by generous donations from our Senior Senator and of course justified by our little winning the peace endeavor in Iraq are already stressing regular construction projects, who can’t compete.

It does seem as if blind short-term greed rules the world. Where are the meek when we need them?