#trans-alaska pipeline

[godallaswriter]

An Unknown Alaska

[caniscryptid]

Atigun Valley, Alaska, 1973

Photographs by Dennis Cowals for the EPA, taken along the route of the future Trans-Alaskan Pipeline System

[mariacallous]

KODIAK, Alaska—At Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak, the USCGC Stratton, a 418-foot national security cutter, was hemmed into port by a thin layer of ice that had formed overnight in the January cold. Named for the U.S. Coast Guard’s first female officer, Dorothy Stratton, the ship was not designed for ice; its home port is in Alameda, California. After serving missions in the Indo-Pacific, it was brought to Alaska because it was available.

Soon the sun would rise, and the ice would surely melt, the junior officers surmised from the weather decks. The commanding officer nevertheless approved the use of a local tugboat to weave in front of the cutter, breaking up the wafer-like shards of ice as the Stratton steamed away from shore and embarked toward the Bering Sea.

In the last decade, as melting ice created opportunities for fishing and extraction, the Arctic has transformed from a zone of cooperation to one of geopolitical upheaval, where Russia, China, India, and Turkey, among others, are expanding their footprints to match their global ambitions. But the United States is now playing catch-up in a region where it once held significant sway.

One of the Coast Guard’s unofficial mottos is “We do more with less.” True to form, the United States faces a serious shortage of icebreaker ships, which are critical for performing polar missions, leaving national security cutters and other vessels like the Stratton that are not ice-capable with an outsized role in the country’s scramble to compete in the high north. For the 16 days I spent aboard the Stratton this year, it was the sole Coast Guard ship operating in the Bering Sea, conducting fishery inspections aboard trawlers, training with search and rescue helicopter crews, and monitoring the Russian maritime border.

Although the Stratton’s crew was up to this task, their equipment was not. A brief tour aboard the cutter shed light on the Coast Guard’s operational limitations and resource constraints. Unless Washington significantly shifts its approach, the Stratton will remain a microcosm of the United States’ journey in the Arctic: a once dominant force that can no longer effectively assert its interests in a region undergoing rapid transformation.

During the Cold War, the United States invested in Alaska as a crucial fixture of the country’s future. Of these investments, one of the most significant was the construction of the Dalton Highway in 1974, which paved the way for the controversial Trans-Alaska Pipeline and the U.S. entry as a major player in the global oil trade. Recognizing Alaska’s potential as a linchpin of national defense, leaders also invested heavily in the region’s security. In 1957, the United States began operating a northern network of early warning defense systems called the Distant Early Warning Line, and in 1958, it founded what became known as the North American Aerospace Defense Command.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, such exigencies seemed excessive. The north once again became a domain for partnership among Arctic countries, a period that many call “Arctic exceptionalism”—or, as the Norwegians put it, “high north, low tension.”

But after the turn of the millennium, under President Vladimir Putin, Russia took a more assertive stance in the Arctic, modernizing Cold War-era military installations and increasing its testing of hypersonic munitions. In a telling display in 2007, Russian divers planted their national flag on the North Pole’s seabed. Russia wasn’t alone in its heightened interest, and soon even countries without Arctic territory wanted in on the action. China expanded its icebreaker fleet and sought to fund its Polar Silk Road infrastructure projects across Scandinavia and Greenland (though those efforts were blocked by Western intervention). Even India recently drafted its first Arctic strategy, while Turkey ratified a treaty giving its citizens commercial and recreational access to Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean.

Over the past decade, the United States lagged behind, focusing instead on the challenges posed to its interests in the Middle East, the South China Sea, and Ukraine. Its Arctic early warning system became outdated. Infrastructure off the coast of Alaska that climatologists use to predict typhoons remained uninstalled, seen as a luxury that the state and federal governments could not afford. In 2020, an engine fire in the sole Coast Guard Arctic icebreaker nearly scuttled a plan to retrieve scientific instruments and data from vessels moored in the Arctic Ocean. Two years later, a Defense Department inspector general report revealed substantial issues with the structural integrity of runways and barracks of U.S. bases across the Arctic and sub-Arctic.

Until recently, U.S. policymakers had little interest in reinstating lost Arctic competence. Only in the last three years—once Washington noticed the advances being made by China and Russia—have lawmakers and military leaders begun to formulate a cohesive Arctic strategy, and it shows.

On patrol with the Stratton, the effects of this delay were apparent. The warm-weather crew struggled to adapt to the climate, having recently returned from warmer Indo-Pacific climates. The resilient group deiced its patrol boats and the helicopter pad tie-downs with a concoction conceived through trial and error. “Happy lights,” which are supposed to boost serotonin levels, were placed around the interior of the ship to help the crew overcome the shorter days. But the crew often turned the lights off; with only a few hours of natural daylight and few portholes on the ship through which to view it anyway, the lights did not do much.

The Coast Guard is the United States’ most neglected national defense asset. It is woefully under-resourced, especially in the Arctic and sub-Arctic, where systemic issues are hindering U.S. hopes of being a major power.

First and foremost is its limited icebreaker fleet. The United States has only two working icebreakers. Of these two, only one, the USCGC Healy, is primarily deployed to the Arctic; the other, the USCGC Polar Star, is deployed to Antarctica. By comparison, Russia, which has a significant Arctic Ocean shoreline, has more than 50 icebreakers, while China has two capable of Arctic missions and at least one more that will be completed by next year.

Coast Guard and defense officials have repeatedly testified before Congress that the service requires at least six polar icebreakers, three of which would be as ice-capable as the Healy, which has been in service for 27 years. The program has suffered nearly a decade of delays because of project mismanagement and a lack of funds. As one former diplomat told me, “A strategy without budget is hallucination.” The first boat under the Polar Security Cutter program was supposed to be delivered by this year. The new estimated arrival date, officials told me, will more likely be 2030.

“Once we have the detailed design, it will be several years—three plus—to begin, to get completion on that ship,” Adm. Linda Fagan, the commandant of the Coast Guard, told Congress last April. “I would give you a date if I had one.”

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has long warned that the U.S. government and military, including the Coast Guard, have made serious miscalculations in their Arctic efforts. For one, the Coast Guard’s acquisition process for new boats is hampered by continual changes to design and a failure to contract competent shipbuilders. Moreover, the GAO found in a 2023 report that discontinuity among Arctic leadership in the State Department and a failure by the Coast Guard to improve its capability gaps “hinder implementation of U.S. Arctic priorities outlined in the 2022 strategy.”

Far more than national security is at stake. The Arctic is a zone of great economic importance for the United States. The Bering Sea alone provides the United States with 60 percent of its fisheries, not to mention substantial oil and natural gas revenue. An Arctic presence is also important for achieving U.S. climate goals. Helping to reduce or eliminate emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and black carbon in the Arctic protects carbon-storing habitats such as the tundra, forests, and coastal marshes.

Capt. Brian Krautler, the Stratton’s commanding officer, knows these problems well. Having previously served on Arctic vessels, he was perhaps the ideal officer to lead the Stratton on this unfamiliar mission. After a boarding team was recalled due to heavy seas and an overiced vessel, Krautler lamented the constraints under which he was working. “We are an Arctic nation that doesn’t know how to be an Arctic nation,” he said.

The Stratton reached its first port call in Unalaska, a sleepy fishing town home to the port of Dutch Harbor. Signs around Unalaska declare, “Welcome to the #1 Commercial Fishing Port in the United States.” The port is largely forgotten by Washington and federal entities in the region, but there is evidence all around of its onetime importance to U.S. national security: Concrete pillboxes from World War II line the roads, and trenches mark the hillocks around the harbor.

As Washington pivoted away from the Arctic, Alaska and its Native communities have become more marginalized. Vincent Tutiakoff, the mayor of Unalaska, is particularly frustrated by the shift. Even though Washington made promises to grant greater access to federal resources to support Indigenous communities, it has evaded responsibility for environmental cleanup initiatives and failed to adequately address climate change.

Federal and state governments have virtually abandoned all development opportunities in Unalaska, and initiatives from fish processing plants to a geothermal energy project have been hindered by the U.S. Energy Department’s sluggish response to its Arctic Energy Office’s open call for funding opportunities. “I don’t know what they’re doing,” Tutiakoff said of state and federal agencies.

Making matters worse, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is moving ahead to make the northern Alaska city of Nome the site of the nation’s next deep-water port rather than build infrastructure near Unalaska, the gateway to the American Arctic and the port of call for the few patrol ships tasked with its security. It seems that the decision was based on the accessibility needs of cruise ships; Unalaska is not necessarily a vacation destination.

By failing to invest in places like Unalaska, the United States is hobbling its own chances for growth. The region could be home to major advances in the green energy transition or cloud computing storage, but without investment this potential will be lost.

In the last year, the United States has tried to claw back some of what it has lost to atrophy. It has inched closer to confirming the appointment of Mike Sfraga as the first U.S. ambassador-at-large to the Arctic. In March, the U.S. Marine Corps and Navy participated in NATO exercises in the Arctic region of Finland, Norway, and Sweden. The U.S. Defense Department hosted an Arctic dialogue in January ahead of the anticipated release of a revised Arctic strategy, and the State Department signed a flurry of defense cooperation agreements with Nordic allies late last year.

Nevertheless, it has a long way to go. Tethered to the docks at Dutch Harbor, the weather-worn Stratton reflected the gap between the United States’ Arctic capabilities and its ambitions. Its paint was chipped by wind and waves, and a generator needed a replacement part from California. Much of the crew had never been to Alaska before. On the day the ship pulled into port, the crew milled about, gawking at a bald eagle that alighted on the bow and taking advantage of their few days in port before setting out again into hazardous conditions.

“I know we’re supposed to do more with less,” a steward aboard the Stratton told me, “but it’s hard.”

[kp777]

By Julia Conley

Common Dreams

July 13, 2024

While applauding the proposal, climate advocates said they would "keep fighting to ensure there's no new oil extraction on a single acre" of the region.

Indigenous groups in Alaska were joined by climate advocates on Friday in welcoming the Biden administration's proposal to expand protections from oil and gas drilling in the Western Arctic, though some groups emphasized that the federal government should not stop with the newly announced effort.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) said it was opening a 60-day comment period regarding a potential expansion of areas protected from drilling in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A), also known as the Western Arctic.

The announcement comes three months after the Biden administration unveiled protections for 13 million acres of the 23 million-acre reserve, barring oil and gas companies from extraction there.

With wildlife including the 150,000-strong Western Arctic caribou herd, muskoxen, polar bears, migratory birds, and native plants depending on the reserve as their habitat, the Sierra Club said President Joe Biden's moves to designate Special Areas in the region are crucial—especially considering the Arctic is warming four times faster than the rest of the world.

"If enacted, these proposed protections would be another historic move towards long-term preservation of America's Arctic," said Athan Manuel, director of Sierra Club's Lands Protection Program. "The Arctic is at the frontline of climate change. President Biden is making it the frontline of climate action."

"If enacted, these proposed protections would be another historic move towards long-term preservation of America's Arctic."

The group pointed out that further protections would allow the NPR-A to store carbon and provide subsistence hunting and gathering areas for Alaska Natives including the Iñupiat.

Protections like those proposed on Friday, said Nauri Simmonds of Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic, are "vital for balancing the systematic disempowerment that's happened in our region for decades" as fossil fuel companies—with the approval of administrations including Biden's—have extracted oil and gas in the Arctic.

"In my Aaka's (grandmother's) lifetime, she witnessed the transition from living a traditional lifestyle to experiencing the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System being constructed and oil fields erected close enough to her traditional lands to be seen, heard, and lead to evacuations for Nuiqsut (the most impacted village from oil and gas development on the north slope of Alaska) as recently as 2022," said Simmonds. "We welcome this most recent announcement, and will continue to work towards building stronger communities in ways that lead to autonomy and self-determination on our traditional lands."

The BLM said it plans to consult with Alaska Native tribes during the 60-day comment period.

Groups including Friends of the Earth (FOE) and the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) expressed cautious optimism about the Biden administration's plan to further protect the largest single unit of public lands in the U.S. from oil and gas exploration.

Raena Garcia, senior fossil fuel and lands campaigner at FOE, called the comment period "a great step toward conserving the Arctic's ecological and cultural significance," but warned that the proposed protections "should not stop at today's announcement."

The Department of the Interior "must establish additional safeguards to prevent the irreversible environmental harm that oil and gas projects like [the Willow oil drilling project] pose to our climate and communities," said Garcia.

Cooper Freeman, Alaska director at CBD, said the entire Western Arctic must "be protected from all oil drilling."

"Anything less is like shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic," said Freeman. "If the federal government continues to allow oil drilling anywhere on the reserve, it'll fuel the climate chaos devastating polar bear dens, migratory bird nesting wetlands, and caribou calving grounds in designated special areas. We'll keep fighting to ensure there's no new oil extraction on a single acre."

[richardnixonlibrary]

#Nixon50 #OTD 11/16/1973 President Nixon signed the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act. It provided for construction of an oil pipeline in Alaska from the North Slope to Port Valdez. The 800-mile-long pipeline took a little over three years to build and cost $8 billion. (Image: WHPO-E1806-21A)

[aviaposter]

Cessna 208B Grand Caravan Wright Air Service

Registration: N1314X Type: C208B Engines: 1 × PWC PT6A-114A Serial Number: 208B1314 First flight: Jun 5, 2008

Wright Air Service is an American commuter airline based in Fairbanks, Alaska, United States. It is located off the east ramp near the Fairbanks International Airport. It was established by Al Wright and started operations in 1967. Bob Bursiel, former president, started as a pilot for Wright's in 1968. As the company grew, more aircraft joined the fleet. Bursiel then became the owner of Wright's in 1982, changing the company's focus from game surveys, short fields, and Trans-Alaska Pipeline construction support, to carrying passengers and mail to the remote villages of Alaska.

Poster for Aviators. aviaposter.com

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from Cornell Lab of Ornithology:

Almost 30 years ago, as an aspiring 25-year-old wildlife photographer, I took my camera north along Alaska’s Dalton Highway to catch my first glimpse of muskox, Arctic tundra, and the region’s bountiful birdlife. Although I followed a corridor built in the 1970s to service the Prudhoe Bay oil fields and trans-Alaska pipeline, as I passed the last spruce tree and crossed the Brooks Range, I felt like I was entering a wilderness unknown. I was naive in many ways, but thrilled by the landscape, its inhabitants, and the beckoning horizons.

In subsequent years, and more than 15 return visits to the coastal plain of Alaska, I’ve come to know the region as not just a wild place: it’s also a land of people, machines, and aggressive corporate ambition. A large swath of the central coastal plain is a massive industrial oilfield complex. Its scale is mostly hidden from public view behind gated roads, but its glow on the horizon is visible by its closest human neighbors as they maintain their hunting and gathering traditions on the land. In fact, the lights can be seen from space.

In stark contrast, to the west of the oilfields lies the single largest expanse of undisturbed land in the United States—the 23-million-acre National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska. Despite its misleading name, the vast tundra and wetlands here are a haven for wildlife that has remained virtually pristine. But it’s not always the empty wilderness that it appears to be on a map.

In summer, the NPR-A is crisscrossed by small aircraft carrying scientists of every discipline, measuring, studying, and recording the number of new cari­bou calves in its herds, the numbers of Pacific Black Brant arriving to molt, the distribution of fish in its lakes, and the composition of the permafrost just below the surface. Neighboring com­munities visit these ancestral lands to hunt and fish. In winter, the dark quiet of the Arctic night is penetrated by fleets of company snow vehicles searching for oil and detonating seismic blasts.

Despite these incursions, the NPR-A is still hiding wolverine and wolf in its riverine thickets, still traversed by the hooves of caribou and muskox, and at times still an immense space of impene­trable silence. The land here is wild, but always being watched and planned for.

In the summer of 2022, I was part of a team of cinematographers asked by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, in partner­ship with the Campion Foundation, to visually document the wild landscape within the Teshekpuk Lake Wetlands region of the NPR-A. We set up a remote field camp along the Ikpikpuk River, and for six weeks we slogged across the tundra filming the lives of the animals, especially the birds—many of which migrate here from all over the world to find mates, breed, and raise their young.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 5.31 (after 1940)

1941 – Anglo-Iraqi War: The United Kingdom completes the re-occupation of Iraq and returns 'Abd al-Ilah to power as regent for Faisal II. 1942 – World War II: Imperial Japanese Navy midget submarines begin a series of attacks on Sydney, Australia. 1947 – Ferenc Nagy, the democratically elected Prime Minister of Hungary, resigns from office after blackmail from the Hungarian Communist Party accusing him of being part of a plot against the state. This grants the Communists effective control of the Hungarian government. 1951 – The Uniform Code of Military Justice takes effect as the legal system of the United States Armed Forces. 1955 – The U.S. Supreme Court expands on its Brown v. Board of Education decision by ordering district courts and school districts to enforce educational desegregation "at all deliberate speed." 1961 – The South African Constitution of 1961 becomes effective, thus creating the Republic of South Africa, which remains outside the Commonwealth of Nations until 1 June 1994, when South Africa is returned to Commonwealth membership. 1961 – In Moscow City Court, the Rokotov–Faibishenko show trial begins, despite the Khrushchev Thaw to reverse Stalinist elements in Soviet society. 1962 – The West Indies Federation dissolves. 1970 – The 7.9 Mw  Ancash earthquake shakes Peru with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe) and a landslide buries the town of Yungay, Peru. Between 66,794 and 70,000 were killed and 50,000 were injured. 1971 – In accordance with the Uniform Monday Holiday Act passed by the U.S. Congress in 1968, observation of Memorial Day occurs on the last Monday in May for the first time, rather than on the traditional Memorial Day of May 30. 1973 – The United States Senate votes to cut off funding for the bombing of Khmer Rouge targets within Cambodia, hastening the end of the Cambodian Civil War. 1973 – Indian Airlines Flight 440 crashes near Palam Airport in Delhi, killing 48. 1977 – The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System is completed. 1985 – United States–Canada tornado outbreak: Forty-one tornadoes hit Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario, leaving 76 dead. 1991 – Bicesse Accords in Angola lay out a transition to multi-party democracy under the supervision of the United Nations' UNAVEM II peacekeeping mission. 2003 – Air France retires its fleet of Concorde aircraft. 2005 – Vanity Fair reveals that Mark Felt was "Deep Throat". 2008 – Usain Bolt breaks the world record in the 100m sprint, with a wind-legal (+1.7 m/s) 9.72 seconds 2010 – Israeli Shayetet 13 commandos boarded the Gaza Freedom Flotilla while still in international waters trying to break the ongoing blockade of the Gaza Strip; nine Turkish citizens on the flotilla were killed in the ensuing violent affray. 2013 – The asteroid 1998 QE2 and its moon make their closest approach to Earth for the next two centuries. 2013 – A record breaking 2.6 mile wide tornado strikes near El Reno, Oklahoma, United States, causing eight fatalities (including three storm chasers) and over 150 injuries. 2016 – Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launch the Manbij offensive, in order to capture the city of Manbij from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). 2017 – A car bomb explodes in a crowded intersection in Kabul near the German embassy during rush hour, killing over 90 and injuring 463. 2019 – A shooting occurs inside a municipal building at Virginia Beach, Virginia, leaving 13 people dead, including the shooter, and four others injured.

[goalhofer]

Trans-Alaska Pipeline System in Chugach Census Area, Alaska in 2004.

[wikiuntamed]

On this day in Wikipedia: Thursday, 16th November

Welcome, שלום, Willkommen, Velkommen 🤗 What does @Wikipedia say about 16th November through the years 🏛️📜🗓️?

16th November 2022 🗓️ : Event - Artemis program Artemis Program: NASA launches Artemis 1 on the first flight of the Space Launch System, the start of the program's future missions to the moon. "The Artemis program is a robotic and human Moon exploration program led by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) along with six major partner agencies— the European Space Agency (ESA), the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA),..."

Image by EricMuss-Barnes

16th November 2018 🗓️ : Death - William Goldman William Goldman, American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1931) "William Goldman (August 12, 1931 – November 16, 2018) was an American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. He first came to prominence in the 1950s as a novelist before turning to screenwriting. Among other accolades, Goldman won two Academy Awards in both writing categories—once for Best..."

Image by Gotfryd, Bernard, photographer

16th November 2013 🗓️ : Death - Tanvir Ahmad Khan Tanvir Ahmad Khan, Indian-Pakistani diplomat, 19th Foreign Secretary of Pakistan (b. 1932) "Tanvir Ahmad Khan (12 June 1932 – 16 November 2013) was a career diplomat from Pakistan...."

Image licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0? by Prospero100

16th November 1973 🗓️ : Event - Richard Nixon U.S. president Richard Nixon signed an act authorizing the construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline to transport oil from the Beaufort Sea to the Gulf of Alaska. "Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A lawyer and member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was the 36th vice president from 1953 to 1961 under..."

Image by Department of Defense. Department of the Army. Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations. U.S. Army Audiovisual Center. (ca. 1974 - 05/15/1984)

16th November 1922 🗓️ : Birth - Gene Amdahl Gene Amdahl, American computer scientist, physicist, and engineer (d. 2015) "Gene Myron Amdahl (November 16, 1922 – November 10, 2015) was an American computer architect and high-tech entrepreneur, chiefly known for his work on mainframe computers at IBM and later his own companies, especially Amdahl Corporation. He formulated Amdahl's law, which states a fundamental..."

Image licensed under CC BY 3.0? by Perry Kivolowitz (Pkivolowitz at en.wikipedia)

16th November 1822 🗓️ : Event - American frontier American Old West: Missouri trader William Becknell arrives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, over a route that became known as the Santa Fe Trail. "The American frontier, also known as the Old West, popularly known as the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial settlements in the early 17th century and..."

Image by John C. H. Grabill

16th November 🗓️ : Holiday - Christian feast day: Hugh of Lincoln "Hugh of Lincoln, O.Cart. (c. 1140 – 16 November 1200), also known as Hugh of Avalon, was a French-born Benedictine and Carthusian monk, bishop of Lincoln in the Kingdom of England, and Catholic saint. His feast is observed by Catholics on 16 November and by Anglicans on 17 November...."

Image by

Unknown authorUnknown author

[dan6085]

A detailed timeline of Alaska's history:

- **Pre-18th Century:** Indigenous peoples, including the Inupiaq, Yupik, Tlingit, and Athabaskan, have inhabited the region for thousands of years, adapting to its harsh climate and vast landscapes.

- **1741:** Russian explorer Vitus Bering, sailing under the Russian flag, explores the Alaskan coast, opening the area to Russian fur traders.

- **1867:** The United States purchases Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million in a deal known as the Alaska Purchase. At the time, many Americans deride the purchase as "Seward's Folly" after Secretary of State William H. Seward, who negotiated the deal.

- **1896:** Gold is discovered in the Klondike region of Yukon, Canada, sparking the Klondike Gold Rush. This event indirectly affects Alaska, as prospectors and fortune seekers travel through the state on their way to the goldfields.

- **1912:** Alaska becomes a U.S. Territory. During this time, the Alaska Native population experiences significant cultural changes due to increased contact with outsiders.

- **1942-1943:** The Aleutian Islands, part of Alaska, are invaded and occupied by Japanese forces during World War II. This represents the only foreign occupation of U.S. soil during the war.

- **1959:** Alaska is admitted as the 49th U.S. state on January 3, 1959. Statehood brings increased federal investments, economic development, and infrastructure projects to the region.

- **1968:** Oil is discovered at Prudhoe Bay, marking the beginning of a significant oil industry in Alaska. The construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System in the 1970s facilitates the transportation of oil from the North Slope to the ice-free port of Valdez.

- **1971:** The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act is passed, resolving long-standing land disputes between the federal government, the State of Alaska, and Alaska Natives. This act leads to the establishment of regional Native corporations and the distribution of $962.5 million and 44 million acres of land to Alaska Natives.

- **1989:** The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurs in Prince William Sound, causing extensive environmental damage. The spill leads to significant changes in oil spill prevention and response regulations.

- **2000:** The Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend program, which pays a dividend to Alaska residents from the earnings of the state's mineral royalties, is established.

- **2010s:** Alaska grapples with the impacts of climate change, including melting sea ice, rising temperatures, and threats to coastal communities.

Please note that this timeline provides a broad overview, and there are many more events and developments in Alaska's rich history.

[eurovisionsocialnewswire]

US-AK: Water bombers cool down smoldering areas near power lines

As the Pogo Mine Road Fire rages on in Alaska, the local fire department sent two water bombers to cool down areas of heat near the Trans Alaska Pipeline on Tuesday. The so-called Fire Bosses worked in tandem to decrease the danger of power lines catching fire.  The firefighters announced that the constant barrage of water from firefighting aircraft has so far kept the fire from spreading. Alaska…

[stuff-by-maurice]

Crushing the Competition: The US Construction Companies that Rule the Roost

When it comes to the construction industry, the competition is tough. With new players entering the market every year, existing players have to up their game to stay on top. In this article, we look at some of the top construction companies in the United States that have managed to stay ahead of the competition.

The Top US Construction Companies

Here are some of the top construction companies in the US:

Bechtel Fluor Corporation Kiewit Corporation PCL Construction Enterprises Turner Construction

Bechtel Bechtel is a massive construction and engineering company that operates all over the world. Some of their most notable projects include the Hoover Dam, the Channel Tunnel, and the Dulles Corridor Metrorail. The company has over 55,000 employees spread across the globe and generated over $21 billion in revenue in 2020.

Key Takeaways:

Operates on a global scale Employees more than 55,000 people Generated over $21 billion in revenue in 2020

Fluor Corporation Fluor Corporation is another massive construction company that operates in more than 100 countries around the world. The company has more than 45,000 employees and generated over $15 billion in revenue in 2020. Fluor Corporation has worked on some major projects including the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System and the Hibernia Oil Platform in Canada.

Key Takeaways:

Operates in more than 100 countries Has more than 45,000 employees Generated over $15 billion in revenue in 2020

Kiewit Corporation Kiewit Corporation is an employee-owned construction company that operates across the United States and Canada. The company has more than 23,000 employees and generated over $10 billion in revenue in 2020. Kiewit Corporation has worked on some major projects including the Tappan Zee Bridge in New York and the Bay Area Rapid Transit extension in San Francisco.

Key Takeaways:

Operates in the United States and Canada Employee-owned Has more than 23,000 employees Generated over $10 billion in revenue in 2020

PCL Construction Enterprises PCL Construction Enterprises is a large construction company that has its headquarters in Edmonton, Canada. The company has been around for more than a century and has worked on some major projects including the One World Trade Center in New York City and the Las Vegas CityCenter. PCL Construction Enterprises has more than 4,500 employees and generated $9 billion in revenue in 2020.

Key Takeaways:

Has been around for more than a century Has headquarters in Edmonton, Canada Has more than 4,500 employees Generated $9 billion in revenue in 2020

Turner Construction Turner Construction is a subsidiary of the German construction company, Hochtief. The company has been around since 1902 and has worked on some major projects including the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City and the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Turner Construction has more than 10,000 employees and generated over $13 billion in revenue in 2020.

Key Takeaways:

A subsidiary of Hochtief Has been around since 1902 Has more than 10,000 employees Generated over $13 billion in revenue in 2020

Advantages of Working with These Companies

Working with these top construction companies provides several advantages, including:

Access to experienced professionals with a wealth of knowledge Large, well-funded companies with access to top-of-the-line equipment and technology Proven track record of success with major projects

The US Construction Industry Statistics

Here are some relevant statistics about the US construction industry:

The construction industry is projected to grow 6% in 2021, reaching a value of $4 trillion. The US has the second-largest construction market worldwide, after China. The construction industry employs more than 7 million people in the US.

Conclusion

The US construction industry is thriving, and these top construction companies are leading the charge. With their years of experience and access to top-of-the-line equipment and technology, they are well-positioned to take on major projects in the coming years. If you are looking to work with one of the best construction companies in the US, consider these five companies for your next project.

Click here to find out more.

[gonzalo-obes]

IMAGENES Y DATOS INTERESANTES DEL DIA 20 DE JUNIO DE 2023

(Yellow Day) el Día más feliz del año, Día Mundial del Refugiado, Día Mundial del Wi-Fi, Día Mundial de la Distrofia Muscular Facioescapulohumeral, Semana Mundial de la Alergia, Año Internacional del Mijo y Año Internacional del Diálogo como Garantía de Paz.

Santa Florencia, Santa Florentina, San Silverio y Santa Elia.

Tal día como hoy en el año 1325: Comienza en Tenochtitlan, capital azteca, la construcción del Templo Mayor o huey teocalli en lengua nativa. Una pirámide doble con una cara escalonada.

En 1500: La reina Isabel la Católica emite una Real Provisión por la que se prohíbe la esclavitud y mediante la misma orden, los indígenas procedentes del Nuevo Mundo pasan a ser considerados súbditos de la Corona, con las mismas obligaciones y privilegios que el resto de los españoles.

En 1949: El presidente de Argentina, Juan Domingo Perón, decreta que las universidades sean gratuitas para todos los ciudadanos del país, y de cualquier país latinoamericanos.

En 1963: Se pone en funcionamiento el 'Teléfono Rojo', un enlace de comunicación directa entre la Unión Soviética y los Estados Unidos creado durante la Guerra Fría, y que aún hoy sigue en activo.

En 1977: Se finaliza la construcción del gran oleoducto de Alaska, el Trans Alaska Pipeline System, que atraviesa el estado de sur a norte. Con casi 1.300Km de longitud, preparado para funcionar en condiciones climatologías muy duras.

En 1990: Se propone una nueva unidad monetaria (el ECU) para la Comunidad Europea. Fue el antecesor del Euro.

En 2008: Ocurre La Tragedia de la discoteca New's Divine, en Ciudad de México (México), en la que una estampida humana a causa de un operativo policial por la posible venta de alcohol a menores deja un saldo de 13 muertos y 16 heridos.

[tomleask]

Die Story "Der Trans-Alaska-Highway" von Wolf Cropp aus seinem Buch "Zwischen Hamburg + der Ferne, jetzt im neuen "Duvenstedter Kreisel". Müsst ihr lesen!

#Duvenstedter Kreisel #Wolf Cropp #Alaska #Trans-Alaska-Highway #Urnatur #Abenteuer #Reisen #Zwischen Hamburg + der Ferne #Polarkreis #Verlag Expeditionen #Bestseller #Inuit #Alaska-Pipeline

[richardnixonlibrary]

#Nixon50 #OTD 4/5/1973 President Nixon met with Secretary of the Interior Rogers Morton at the Western White House, La Casa Pacifica, to discuss the Alaska Pipeline. President Nixon signed the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act in November 1973. The Act provided for construction of an oil pipeline in Alaska from the North Slope to Port Valdez. The 800-mile-long pipeline took a little over three years to build and cost $8 billion. (Image: WHPO-E0569-10)