Oil, Globalization, and the War for the Arctic Refuge

Examines the battle to develop the oil resources of Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The global consumption of fossil fuels is dramatically rising, while inversely, the supply is in permanent decline. The “end of oil” threatens the very future of Western civilization. Oil, Globalization, and the War for the Arctic Refuge examines the politics of drilling for oil in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and presents this controversy as a precursor of future “resource wars” where ideas and values collide and polarize. The reader is introduced to the primary participants involved: global corporations, politicians, nongovernmental organizations, indigenous peoples and organizations, and human rights/religious organizations. Author David M. Standlea argues in favor of seeing this comparatively “local” conflict as part of a larger struggle between the proponents of an alternative, positive vision for the future and an American culture presently willing to sacrifice that future for immediate profit.

“Standlea, a political ecologist, provides good insight into the tactics and organization of environmental movements combating what he calls ‘elitist corporate-political power,’ and he clearly reveals his strong opposition to any ANWR oil operations … it is well written, lively, and carefully prepared and offers a useful micro study of an important issue.” — CHOICE

“Extremely relevant and timely, this book not only addresses a central concern in the field—environmental politics—but also represents an important attempt to illuminate the ideological dynamics of our time. This is an outstanding contribution to the emerging field of global studies.” — Manfred B. Steger, author of Globalism: The New Market Ideology

“This book makes a major contribution to one of the great moral and political debates of our time, highlighting aspects that are not well known or appreciated in more general accounts available in the mass media. Especially significant is its treatment of both aboriginal rights and the role of churches in connecting those rights to more global concerns regarding the environment. In short, Standlea shows how the symbiotic relationship of the Gwich’in to their ecosystem is clearly a lens through which we can see and understand the physical, psychological, and spiritual stakes of our environmental crisis. I am certain that many will find this work challenging—that is good; it is time to be challenged.” — Rt. Rev. Mark MacDonald, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Alaska

David M. Standlea is an independent scholar who received his Ph.D. in Political Science/Political Ecology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.