Headline Inquiry Regularly Goes Unaddressed?

In the November 1988 issue of a magazine, an article shed light on the intricate relationship between Alaska's oil industry, foreign investment, climate change, and the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS). Written by the esteemed journalist, Kleeschulte, the piece discussed these topics with a unique perspective, often tackling politically adjacent topics without conclusive answers.

That same year, the United Nations formed the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), signalling a growing global concern about the impact of climate change. At the time, the adjusted forecast by the IPCC anticipated the doubling of global carbon dioxide levels to 700 by 2075. In Alaska, atmospheric carbon dioxide measured at Mauna Loa Observatory was about 350 parts per million, a figure that has since risen to 428.

The article also highlighted the construction of a production module for ARCO's Kuparuk River Unit. This was the first production module fabricated in Alaska in twenty years. Veco, a local company, had fabricated two small modules for ARCO, underbidding an Oregon company for the Kuparuk job, anticipating no profit. The module was built at North Star Equipment Services' Anderson Dock.

Pete Leathard, then-Veco President, saw local laborers as the core of a module industry. However, lack of infrastructure and skilled labor were factors limiting the fabrication of larger sealift modules. This limitation was evident when ConocoPhillips Alaska needed a production module for its Nuna project at Kuparuk, which was built near the Don Young Port of Alaska in June 2022.

The article's headline posed an open-ended question, but the subtitle asked if foreign investment was a safe long-term solution for Alaska's economic problems. Kleeschulte, the author, wishes he had written more about permafrost melt and its economic impacts on Alaska's infrastructure and the expense of village relocation in 1988.

James Hansen raised the alarm about global warming in Congress in November 1988, and six of the top ten warmest years in Alaska have been recorded since 2010. Alaska's Changing Environment 2.0, published in 2022, states that average temperatures increased in Alaska by more than 3°F in less than fifty years, and that Alaska's growing seasons have nearly extended by thirty days compared to a century ago.

Tim Bradner, now editor of Alaska Economic Report and Alaska Legislative Digest, spoke to executives at Veco in June 1988. Bradner's discussion with Veco executives underscored the potential for sustained module making in Alaska, as Kleeschulte believed that his writing often presented both sides of an issue in boring detail and almost never could settle on which side was right at the time. Betteridge's Law, which states that if a publisher could confidently answer "yes" to a question in a headline, then the headline would be a declarative sentence, was aptly challenged by the article's self-refuting headline.

In conclusion, the article serves as a poignant reminder of the complexities and uncertainties surrounding Alaska's oil industry, climate change, foreign investment, and the AMHS in 1988. As we look back at this pivotal moment, it is clear that the issues discussed in the article continue to resonate today, underscoring the need for continued dialogue and action to address these challenges.