Deep in the shadows of Alaska’s wilderness are remnants of an age when oil and mining companies hastily searched for minerals and oils. From the Arctic Ocean’s windswept icy shores to the dark rainforests of southeast Alaska, you will find the “byproducts,” or oil drums, from these companies’ explorations. These oil drums are so common they have been sarcastically nicknamed “tundra flowers” by local residents. Frankly, they are eye sores. And they are a threat to the environment. Even though many of the oil drums are nearly a half century old, they still contain toxic fuels and oils that seep out and harm wildlife and flora. In today’s environmental conscience society we find this unacceptable. It’s time to do something about it. But we must lead by example rather than rely on our government’s web of bureaucracy to resolve this issue. After all many of the oil drums, particularly in the arctic, were abandoned there by the US government. We must act now before further damage is inflicted on Alaska’s fragile lands. Henderson Haul plans to extract these barrels via dog sled so they will no longer be harmful to Alaska's ecosystems.
[First area of cleanup]
|
The first area of cleanup we plan to concentrate on is the Stampede Trail which is coincidently the trail that leads to bus 142. Since thousands of people from around the world travel to this destination we feel it’s our obligation to focus on this region first. The Chris McCandless story is compelling no matter which way you look at it and draws hundreds of visitors to this area every year. It's a spot we want to show good stewardship of the land and a good representation of the pristine environment that Alaska symbolizes and what Chris Mccandless stood for. The 2nd area planned for operation barrel extraction is located in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge or ANWR. It’s where some of the most toxic barrel dumps exist. ANWR became highly controversial as oil field developers turned their sights on oil deposits under the coastal area, which coincidently is the calving grounds for the Porcupine caribou herd. So far, development has been kept at bay but remnants of previous oil exploration exists in the means of oil drums littered across the Brooks Range foothills and along the Beaufort Sea shoreline. Cleaning up these dump sites are critical because the watershed drains oil directly into the ocean affecting whales, seals, fish and waterfowl among other sensitive aquatics. This destruction of environment could easily be rectified by proper disposal of these oil barrel dump sites. |
|
[Other Benefits]
|
When the summer midnight sun crests the surfs of Alaska's Arctic sandy coastline you will see an array of wildlife like foxes, wolverines and wolves. Sometimes they will be lying in the warm sun with their well fed tummies bulging. And other times, you will see these predators working the shores for waterfowl and fish to feast on.
Occasionally though, you will see polar bears wandering about searching for marine animals washed ashore. Seemingly, this unusual summer population of polar bears is increasing. None of the arctic animals have been affected by global warming and human encroachment as harshly as the Polar Bear. The plight of the Polar Bear is in dire straits. Two-thirds of the world's polar bears are expected to be gone by 2050 according to National Geographic. During Operation Extraction in our northern regions, we will be monitoring the polar bears to help us understand why their pattern is changing. We will be in the most remote regions and have access to little seen areas since most of these areas are inaccessible by motorized vehicles so it allows a unique opportunity to record and monitor the patterns of Polar Bears in their natural remote settings. In this regards, we will be asking the serious questions of what we can do as a society to stop this rapid destruction of a species and why our consumerism is affecting their outcome. |