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Barrow's going to heat up this Summer and I don't mean climate change: Shell Oil is coming by sea and by air and bringing hundreds of people. We should see their ships off the coast very soon. They've taken over a hangar at the airport and have their own medevac crews. They'll rotate 500-600 workers every two weeks. Along with Shell Greenpeace is coming to protest the oil workers so things are going to be very interesting very soon here...
I can only imagine and while Greenpeace has a valid point here and there, they tend to overdo things.....they don't consider people's livelyhoods and cultures. Let them try to survive away from their ship and "live off the land" in the places they so like to protest at...
This should be good for the Barrow economy. Seriously doubt if you'll hear of more then 10 or 12 locals complaining.
It's going to inject millions into the economy. I don't think the Inupiat will care as long as the bowhead migration isn't interfered with. Screw up whaling there will be a war up here.
I wonder how many of the workers will be Alaskan residents.
That's a good question, Met. I'd like to see Shell hire from the locals as well, good money to be made for the Inupiat here and since they have a big stake in things it's only right to do so.
It's going to inject millions into the economy. I don't think the Inupiat will care as long as the bowhead migration isn't interfered with. Screw up whaling there will be a war up here.
They've got some pretty stiff enviromental controls on activites that interfer with whales. I've bet they've got crews in boats on the water monitioring that. That issue has come up in the past when they were doing seismic testing.
"We presume that there will be harassment and displacement," Ken Hollingshead, a biologist at the fisheries service, said in an interview at the time. "We have implemented a mitigation program to ensure the impacts are not significant. They have to be negligible."
Companies must watch for marine mammals by plane and ship during seismic tests and shut off the air guns if an animal is too close. They must also make sure the tests do not interfere with the spring and fall whale hunts.
BP spokesman Steve Rinehart said his company's activities in the Beaufort Sea take place in shallow waters well south of bowhead migration path.
"Besides whales, the project has been designed to avoid conflicts with fish, seals other marine mammals and done under very strict rules to minimize potential conflicts," Rinehart said.
That's a good question, Met. I'd like to see Shell hire from the locals as well, good money to be made for the Inupiat here and since they have a big stake in things it's only right to do so.
When Shell came to Atqasuk this past spring to discuss their planned study activities relating to possibly building a pipeline from Wainwright to eventually hook into the pipeline, they hemmed and hawed about local hires aside from a guide and camp cooks. When Statoil came and was asked about jobs, they talked about the need to create training programs and work with the schools but didn't really address the jobs question either. Both companies seemed to feel that a lot of the Inupiats don't currently have the skill sets for many of the jobs at this point, they just didn't come out and say it.
When Shell came to Atqasuk this past spring to discuss their planned study activities relating to possibly building a pipeline from Wainwright to eventually hook into the pipeline, they hemmed and hawed about local hires aside from a guide and camp cooks. When Statoil came and was asked about jobs, they talked about the need to create training programs and work with the schools but didn't really address the jobs question either. Both companies seemed to feel that a lot of the Inupiats don't currently have the skill sets for many of the jobs at this point, they just didn't come out and say it.
There's also the sad perception of natives being lazy and drunk, something I heard directly from the manager of a local business. He said he never hires natives anymore because they get one check and never show up again. He said that's why Barrow doesn't have a movie theater or fast food place, no one to work at them. I was really disgusted at his comments. People come up here and don't understand that the Inupiat still live a subsistence life style - hunting, fishing, and whaling are cornerstones of the people here and more important then working 9-5. The Inupiat hunt something pretty much year round, save for the coldest and darkest months of the year. A good whaling season can feed the whole community so no one who cares about their tradition is going to give that up to work the counter of a fast food place. I have no doubt that oil execs have the same mentality when it comes to native hires.
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