8.3 Alaska's development opportunities + 8.4 Flashcards
(Explain how cold environments like Alaska can provide challenges for development) Describe development opportunities
Commercial fishing: provides 800,000 jobs and employs 1 in 10 Alaskans, $6 billion to state economy annually. Some of the biggest salmon, crab and whitefish fisheries in the world.
Mineral extraction: 1/5 of Alaska’s wealth comes from gold industry, names gold rush state. This must be managed carefully to minimize environmental impacts.
Toursim: 1-2 million annual summer visitors making it on of the largest opportunities in Alaska, 60% cruise ship passengers.
Energy: Oil industry is huge employer. 50 HEP stations, providing 1/5 of communities with electricity. Access to geothermal energy from Pacific ring of fire
Case study of Alaska introduction:
Alaska is a US state and covers 2 million sq km and borders both Canada and the Arctic Ocean. It is referred to as the last frontier of the USA. It has magnificent scenery
(Explain how cold environments like Alaska can provide challenges for development) Describe development challenges
Low carrying capacity: the permafrost and short growing season rule out crop production
Perilously low temperatures: Inuit communities made coats from caribou skins, goose as lining to keep warm
Thermokart: seasonal melting and refreezing makes ground uneven. Frostheave causes pebbles and stones to slowly rise upwards, travel can be impossible
Protecting building and infrastructure: Gas, sewerage and water pipes are constructed in utility corridors to stop them freezing underground, homes are built on stilts to stop them sinking into permafrost, steep roofs allow snow to fall off
Whats the opportunity from short growing season which means low carryign capacity of the land and explain
Fishing for subsistence but also commercial fishing employing 1 in 10 Alaskans.
To what extent do the opportunities in Alaska outweigh the challenges
Alaska has been successfully settled for thousands of years despite perilously low temperatures
The opportunities clearly outweigh the challenges, but we must consider the fragility of the wilderness and its inability to recover from human impacts
