I don't really know if Hickel is even writing this stuff anymore. But his opinion pieces have the same mantra. Build the gas pipeline to Valdez (what does his blind trust really say) because that is what he wants.
We have to establish trade with China and Russia, blah, blah blah...
In his latest opinion, he takes a cheap shot at Palin. But first to some of his B.S. statements that are overblown.
On China, here is some background on Hickel when he talks about China.
That’s why this Alaska-China Business Conference is so timely. Alaska and China can play key roles in addressing our common crisis. My first visit to China was in 1979 -- nearly 30 years ago.Source: 4thAnnual Alaska – China Business Conference, December 11, 2008
In 1979, China was what type of country? And what type of country are they today? At one point during the AGIA process, Hickel promoted SINOPEC getting the pipeline contract, you know the Chinese company that was supporting Sudan.
Got to love Hickel's blindness to that and then he qualifies his own ambitions by stating:
Yes, the Alaska Natural Gas pipeline can be one of the great projects of this century to improve life and health for all our trading partners. And with China’s help, we can build it years sooner, helping America with the jobs and productive economy we need. .Source: 4thAnnual Alaska – China Business Conference, December 11, 2008
What does he say in his latest about China?
Unlike most states, Alaska has a positive trade balance with China and Japan. We are a net exporter of resources that generate the revenues that pay for state government services while our citizens pay no state income or sales taxes.
With Japan and China, you have Palin stating the following:
Japan remains Alaska’s top export market at $1.1 billion, followed by China at $733 million, Canada at $370 million, Korea at $366 million, Germany at $208 million, and Switzerland at $148 million.
(...)
Refined petroleum product exports from Alaska in 2008 totaled $156 million to China, Canada, and Japan. The value of the state’s coal exports grew in 2008 to $23 million of sales to Pacific Rim countries.
Overall, exports make up about 10% of Alaska's revenues. Hickel makes it seem much larger, but Hickel likes to make things bigger than what they really are. Like the "All-Alaska" pipeline.
Now where Hickel takes a cheap shot at Palin is when he states the following:
Gov. Sarah Palin maintains that a gas line across Canada makes economic sense and is best for Alaska. That's not true. And don't be fooled by a measly 24-inch diameter bullet line from Prudhoe to Anchorage. It will never be built, because without the volume of a large pipeline Southcentral homeowners and businesses won't be able to afford the gas.
If I were governor, we would start building the All-Alaska gas line tomorrow. All it takes is some guts and a decision.
No Wally, if you were Governor, your blind trust would be called into question on what does it specifically say with regard to all of the permit right-of-ways and everything attached.
As for the bullet line, there are better ways to service South Central Alaska, but that will be looked at later on.
Hickel closes with:
The missing links for a railroad around the world are the segments from Fairbanks west to Wales, near Nome, and east to Whitehorse. Let's build them now.
The Russians are extending the Siberian railway east to meet us. I have met the engineers planning the link from Yakutsk to Chukotka and have seen their design for a tunnel under the Bering Strait. This project can be a symbol of a new era of U.S.-Russia relations and will be the trip of a lifetime. It will also carry the resources of the Arctic to the world.
Mark my words, if we don't jump at this opportunity, Russia will backhaul its vast mineral resources from the Russian Far East directly into China.
Will the next champion of Alaska please step forward?
Wally, they don't need to build a tunnel miles deep under the ocean floor to do that. That should tell you something.
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