Alaska, one of only two non-continental states, has a reputation of being a frigid place, home to the spectacular Northern Lights and wildlife that many Midwesterners have never seen. Because this part of our planet and ecosystem is not our front yard, we may think that what happens in Alaska stays there, but this is not so.

According to the February 2005 issue of Discover Magazine, a 1998 U.S. Geological Survey estimated that 1.5 million acres of land along Alaska’s beautiful northeastern shore are sitting atop anywhere from 4.3 billion to 11.8 billion barrels of recoverable oil. For petroleum companies, these figures, and the fact that this much oil could supply the entire United States with enough oil to last three months, leaves Alaska looking like an attractive untapped resource. But this is a nightmare for environmentalists.

These lands may seem safe because, according to Discover Magazine, 19.6 million acres of Alaska is governmentally protected. Those who voted for George W. Bush can go sit in the corner: He proposed in 2001 to open this refuge for drilling, and while he was shut down in the Senate four years ago, he is likely to gain approval this year when the proposal is revisited because of the Republican victory in the 2004 election.

Charles Clusen of the National Resources Defense Council told Discover Magazine, “The coastal plain is the biological heart of the [Alaskan] refuge. If you destroy it, you’ll harm the wildlife that inhabit the entirety of the refuge and beyond.” This wildlife includes acres of trees, mountains, natural streams and animals such as caribou, musk oxen and polar bears.

So what can we as Kansans do when we are thousands of miles away? Decisions have been made, an environmentally unconscious president has been elected, and unless you want to fly yourself to Alaska to literally hug a tree, there may be nothing you can do about preserving wildlife. And why bother preserving it anyway? Alaskan wildlife doesn’t directly affect our lives. But when any part of Earth’s ecosystem is attacked, the rest of the planet suffers.

College students can take steps to help out in our corner of the world. Recycling is obvious, as is conserving food and other goods to avoid unnecessary waste. Carpool to those weekly trips to Target, don’t litter, turn off the lights and television when you are not using them. You could even write to your local and national government. Being conscious of the earth and embracing these simple steps add up.

Reviewing the situation in Alaska provides an example of the respect we as humans have lost, and continue to lose, for the delicate balance of life, the enchanting way our ecosystem works, and the way in which we are constantly choosing mankind’s well being over Earth’s well being. “Savage” civilizations that preceded us knew how to use the Earth without harming it, so why can’t we modern humans with all of our fancy technologies learn how to prevent these problems? Maybe because we are too selfish, or maybe because unless there are hard facts such as these placed in front of our faces, some of us are more concerned with what Paris Hilton wore yesterday than the state of our planet.

On a larger scale, what could be done about rising oil prices and the scarcity of oil? The answer is alternate energy sources. According to www.floridagas.org, Florida ranks eighth in the nation for energy consumption. However, the use of natural gas in this state is on the rise, and the Florida Energy Office reported that, “increased use of natural gas in Florida’s commercial, residential, transportation and industrial energy markets would result in net economic and environmental benefits to the state.” Clearly there are alternatives that benefit the environment and the wallet simultaneously.

Clusen also told Discover Magazine, “If we required automobile owners to replace their used tires with ones as efficient as the tires that originally came on the car, we would save more oil than there is in the Arctic refuge.” This is still more proof that it isn’t picketing and tying yourself to a tree that will help our environment, it is ultimately thoughtful earthly minded decisions such as the aforementioned that help. You don’t have to be a liberal tree-hugging hippie to show the Earth and the ecosystem respect.