Before ANWR

Drilling for oil in the ANWR has been a controversial subject. However, before coming to this there was an equally important debate about the original Alaskan Pipeline. An excellent documentary by American Experience on PBS goes through many aspects of the building of the pipeline. In my opinion, it sounds familiar to the current debate about ANWR. Environmental activists at the time were able to keep some responsibility in the construction but the oil embargo essentially killed any opposition to building the pipeline. The documentary covers the economic, environmental, social and engineering elements of the construction. Check your local PBS listings to see when you can catch the documentary. It is an eye opener and contains many interesting facts.