Checks and Balance: Alaska, part one—oil and trouble

Alaska sits at the heart of two big, tangled global questions: how to slow climate change, and where, or whether, to develop oil. Alaska uses the income from oil to fund basic services. But oil production in the state is in long-term decline. Oil companies and their many allies are pushing for a crude revival. Can Alaska reconcile the desire to drill, with the need to limit climate change?In the first episode of a special two-part series, Charlotte Howard reports from Alaska.  Iñupiat elder Bobby Schaeffer explains how warming temperatures are affecting his community.  Alaska’s Governor Mike Dunleavy pushes for a resurgence in American drilling.  And Kara Moriarty from the Alaska Oil and Gas Association explains why she thinks the state needs to rejuvenate its oil industry.  You can now find every episode of Checks and Balance in one place and sign up to our weekly newsletter. For full access to print, digital and audio editions, as well as exclusive live events, subscribe to The Economist at economist.com/uspod. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.