Revenue Notes

You will need to list and discuss Alaska's top five sources of revenue.

Oil

-Mostly on the North Slope

-Declining

-Accounts for about 85% of the unrestricted revenue available to the state for spending for general purposes

-1/3 of Alaskan jobs are attributed to the oil industry

-As of the 2012 Study, it shows that oil prices peaked $104 per barrel in 1980 and 2008

Fishing

- 1.7 billion in 2008

-Annual fishing employment is 9000

-Annual fish processing employment is 7000

-Salmon prices went down in the 90’s when farmed fishing became popular

Mining

-Zinc, gold, silver, and coal are those mostly mined

-Annual value of Alaska mineral production is more than 1 billion

-Direct employment is 1500 jobs

-State revenue from mining is only 1% as high as state revenues from oil

Tourism

-1.7 million tourists in 2008

-Around 25,000 people are employed in some relation to tourism

-Likely to continue to grow

-Creates conflict because it demands new facilities and recreation opportunities for visitors

-Overcrowding and land use

Military

-In 2006, there were 23,000 active duty military

-Represents 7% of jobs

-At statehood, it was around 35% of jobs

-Built the Alaska Highway

List and discuss three environmental battles

Pebble Mine

Open pit mine

In the headwaters of Bristol Bay drainage

Would need the largest dam in the world to hold back mine waste

Copper and gold mine

If waste isn’t managed properly, the wildlife would probably suffer

People think it’s too much of a risk

Frakenfish

-genetically modified fish

-would be labeled the same as normal salmon

-no long term studies done on it or its affect on people

-may mess up the environment enormously because they are basically a new species and would eat a lot

-ANWR

-drill for oil and natural gas

-in a wildlife refuge

-Federal (lot of taxes that the state wouldn’t do)

You need to list and discuss at least three issues that delayed Statehood

-People thought Alaska was underdeveloped

Congress viewed Alaska as having too few people and not enough infrastructures

Tax base was fairly new

-Inclusion of Hawaii as a state

Both states were pushing at the same time and people thought it was too much to include both

Hawaii agreed to let Alaska enter first

-Congress members being difficult

            Didn’t see economic potential in it so they blocked it

            Didn’t see the point of it so they blocked it

            Blocked it because they could block it

-Thought adding Alaska as a state would ruin political stability

            Alaska was more liberal

            Republicans didn’t want to have less power in congress

You need to discuss what World War II and the building of the Alaskan Highway did for Alaska.

World War II created a population boom as well as dramatically increased the military presence in Alaska.

The Alaska Highway allowed easy transportation and opened up large areas of the territory. It created an economical boom.