ee.3.1 Mineral extraction in cold environments - Oil extraction in northern Alaska
Content
- Geographic inquiry and concept(s)
- The varying power of different stakeholders to extract economic value from extreme environments
- Geographic knowledge and understanding
- Human and physical opportunities and challenges for minerals, oil and gas extraction in cold environments, including inaccessibility, permafrost and resource nationalism
- Case study or detailed examples
- Case study of one cold environment to illustrate the issues
- Aims of this lesson
- To describe and explain the opportunities and challenges for oil extraction in northern Alaska.
Base knowledge and understanding
News article
White House approves increased oil and gas drilling in Alaska’s national wildlife refuge
National Petroleum Reserve lease sales and permitting for road through the Gates of the Arctic park were also approved
The Guardian · 23 October 2025
Key terms
- Challenges
- Refers to the difficulties or obstacles that arise in the interaction between human societies and their physical environments.
- Inaccessibility
- Difficult to reach or get to.
- Opportunities
- Refers to the positive aspects or potential benefits that a geographical area offers. These can include aspects like economic prospects, social and cultural amenities, or environmental benefits that contribute to the development or improvement of the quality of life in that area.
- Permafrost
- Soil and rock where temperatures below 0°C persist over at least two consecutive winters and the intervening summer.
- Resource nationalism
- A government’s effort to gain greater control or value from its natural resources. This can range from outright expropriation – when a government takes away a private company’s assets – to more creeping forms of appropriation – such as higher taxation or tougher regulation.
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Review
- Outline the difference between aridity and infertility. [2]
- Explain two challenges that farmers face in hot arid environments. [4]
- Examine how the distinction between aridity and infertility affects the agricultural opportunities available in hot arid environments. [10]
