Galtung's Triangle and The Arctic Refuge Drilling Controversy

    Follow up with your in-class example of the Galtung triangle conflict model with a blog of 400-500 words that explains any conflict through that model.  Focus on analyzing the conflict, but use the model to do so.  You don't need to draw it on the blog, though you could draw it for yourself.  The blog should be in paragraph form and it should be analysis.  Thus you should use terms such as latent, manifest, contradiction, attitudes, assumptions, behaviors.  You may use the same conflict that your group explored in class or pick a new one.

 The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is an large area in northern Alaska free from development that had been under scrutiny for decades. This is a conflict over access to resources and protections of land. Large oil companies and certain Congress members have been fighting to open this land for oil and gas development. This land is vital for the animals of the region including bears, wolves, and caribou, as well as the native people that inhabit the area. Their attitudes are that the land should be kept wild and out of the hands of large corporations. However, in early 2020 the Trump administration began to finalize plans to open the land for oil drilling The area could bring in large sums of money for the oil corporations, and would fulfill Trump's goal of expanding development in the region.  This would also create many jobs for Alaskan citizens, and would be an economic boost for the area. 

    Since Trump's plans were revealed to the public in early 2020, there has been an outburst of backlash from environmentalists and native people from all over the country. The New York Times reported on the issue saying, "Opponents say that opening the refuge to development would be a step backward in an era when the world should be burning less oil in order to avoid drastic global warming. They also say drilling could harm vulnerable wildlife in the area, including polar bears, which are already struggling because of climate change, and Porcupine caribou herds that use the coastal plain as a calving area." It is clear that the environmentalists have voiced their dislike of the plan through peaceful measures, including protests and through political measures, such as blocking proposals to open the refuge in congress. 

    Despite this backlash the plan was moving ahead in November of 2020. NPR reported that, "After finishing its environmental review in August, the Trump administration then launched a "call for nominations" on Nov. 17. That's a 30-day window for oil companies to confidently tell the government which pieces of land they'd like included in a lease sale. But the Bureau of Land Management did not wait 30 days before going ahead and scheduling a sale date, which will take place just two weeks before President Trump leaves office." It is also estimated that 30% of the worlds undiscovered oil resides in the arctic, and it would be very economically beneficial for the large companies. 

    In spite of the actions of the Trump administration, one of Biden's first actions in office was to block the drilling in the Arctic. However, given that this conflict has lasted six decades, it is likely that another administration will try and grab at the arctic land, and that this fight is long from over.