REPORT: Alaska Democrats Consider Ban On Oil Drilling, Despite Oil Making Up Half Of State Economy

 Members of the Alaskan Democratic Party Climate Caucus are weighing the idea of calling for a ban on oil future drilling, even though the trade accounts for half of the state’s economy, according to a new report.

Leaked documents from the caucus show some members calling for a total halt in oil development in what is one of the highest oil-producing states in the union.

Tim Hinterberger, a professor at the University of Alaska at Anchorage, called for the entire eradication of oil development in the state, The Daily Wire reported. Hinterberger lobbied to delete a portion of its party statement regarding environmental policy that expresses equivocal support for “responsible oil development performed in a manner that protects our fish, game, and wildlife resources,” according to the outlet. 

Animals walk under a pipeline in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska in this undated photo. (Photo by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Getty Images)

“At this advanced stage of climate disruption, no oil development is responsible,” Hinterberger reportedly wrote in the comments section of an internal document.

The Alaskan state government officially recognized the extent to which oil fuels the economy of the isolated state, saying “Nearly 85 percent of the state budget is supplied by oil revenues,” according to Alaska.gov.

Some Alaskans reportedly expressed concerns about the dangers of such a policy, citing the negative ramifications it might have on the state economy as well as in the private sector.

The Alaska State Director for non-profit Power The Future, Rick Whitbeck, said he opposed the Democratic Party’s push to eradicate the state’s oil industry.

“Alaska would quickly be bankrupt if our petroleum industry was shuttered,” Whitbeck said, according to The Daily Wire.

Whitbeck also noted that 20% of workers within the state’s private sector are compensated — both directly and indirectly — by funds from “gas development revenues,” The Daily Wire reported.

Whitbeck predicted a “mass exodus of people” if the policy became a reality, the outlet reported.

“Oil and gas supports thousands of jobs in-state, directly and indirectly, and provides crucial revenue for the state and local communities. Losing these industries without effectively transitioning to other energy sources would be significantly harmful to Alaska,” Alaska’s one and only Democratic elected official, Rep. Mary Peltola, told The Daily Wire.