The market does bear those costs. One of the costs is extracting a resource out of the ground that belongs to the residents of Alaska. Just the same as resource extraction everywhere has taxes and royalties. But due to high costs of those commodities at this time, Alaska is making more money than can be responsibly spent. So rather than blow it all as many states would do. We save %35 off the top that cant be touched, for the times when oil wealth isnt as much. Then we still have 8billion left over on top of the %35.

As for subsidizing energy, it doesnt help in the long run. I said earlier that Alaska invested a large sum of money into green energy projects, probably more than anyplace in the world per capita. Certainly in the US though. This is planned as a long term solution, or even a medium term one. This is in response to a crisis that is happening.

So if you dont mind. Give me a snap shot of your energy rates. We can go from there and youll maybe understand a little better.

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[quote=Bunz;1218607]With Alaska's incredibly long Summer daylight hours would it be possible to have solar panels installed in some places? Or are the suns rays too weak to be meaningful for Alaskans?

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Sorry for the quick reply. Last time I bought gas it was like $3.67 or something (didn't really pay attention). I haven't seen a utility bill in quite a while - wife handles all that.

Sorry.

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[quote=AjaxPress;1219577]Well yes and no. Right now, it doesnt get dark until midnight or so. The sun sets about 11pm. But of course the issue is that it is equally dark in the winter. I have also heard that the rays arent powerful enough to make it economically viable. But at the rate we are going, just about anything could become viable.
More of a focus is being wind power. Wind is much more consistent and reliable up here. There is also several places where geo-thermal and tidal/non-dam hydro projects are feasible.
In my community, there are a few windmills have popped up in private ownership. Hydropower as it is traditionally known with a dam built and turbines spun based on the water spinning them. But that wont work due to the salmon runs, which are vast and there is no fish ladder in the world that could cope with the rush of salmon that would need to get through.
So, what they have now, is a single turbine that on its own could power a city of 10,000 or so. It runs on the river currents, but is not effectively a dam. It would interupt some width of the river, but apparently the entire footprint for one of these in terms of river usage is less than 3thousand square feet. I have never actually seen one in action, but that is the big discussion around here. But even that would only work in summer because the rivers and bay where I live freeze from Thanksgiving until Mothers day on average.

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Well fair enough. How do you think your quality of life would change if all of your utilities especially petroleum based uses doubled? I would imagine that you are somehow on the grid powered by hoover dam, and any number of other very cheap sources of electricity. So possibly quadrupling that cost.
Now wages on average are %10-15 higher than in urban Alaska or the lower 48. But that doesnt offset $900 dollar heating bills in the winter, 100 bucks to fill up a small pickup, and $300 to power a 3 bedroom house with all of the energy savings efforts one can imagine. Including turning off chest freezers and placing them outside in the winter.
Often times, because rural Alaskans are out in the middle of nowhere, and are small in numbers are unknown or forgotten about when it comes to issues like this. I have the feeling prices that I have been dealing with for the last 3 years will make thier way down there. Imagine the shitstorm caused when that happens.

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It would suck. I'd do everything that I could do to conserve, but eventually I'd realize that I might have to move.

Of course, for most of the year in CO you can get by with little energy use for climate control.

But, living in the tundra is a different story. That's choosing to place yourself directly in a situation where you have to consume vast amounts of energy to survive. If that energy is becoming too expensive to live in that very small region that's actually inhabited, perhaps it's time to live somewhere else?

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When they come a wull staun ma groon
Staun ma groon al nae be afraid
Thoughts awe hame tak awa ma fear
Sweat an bluid hide ma veil awe tears

You're saying it becomes a matter of simple economics, either one can afford to maintain X lifestyle or one relocates to Y, affordable circumstances.

Where is that half billion coming from? Alaskan taxpayers? Arent you then just redistributing money among the people?

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Elminate all taxes on income and replace with a national sales tax.

Well the writing on the wall has been there for awhile. I have the sinking feeling I will be in the city doing gunsmith work next winter. Its highly emotional to be honest with you. I see a culture and way of life coming to an end right in front of my eyes. PJ, its frackin heart breaking to watch this.
The amount of energy that is consumed is not so much the issue, as is the cost of the BTUs. Rural Alaskans have long lead the way in conservation when it comes to things like this.

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Well it is quite easy for me to sit back and complain about how rough I got it at the pump. But I know and have known it is more expensive, and gladly have payed more in an effort to maintain and be a part of a community of this sort.
What bothers me even more is the people who are struggling worse than me to make ends meet. But the important thing in this whole story and the path that rural Alaska is taking, is that energy prices here will eventually make its way down to the lower 48. Now it is easy to sit back and say, when you cant afford to live somewhere...move. Well that is a very simplistic way of looking at the situation. But really, somewhow I have the feeling the tables would turn dramatically if the price of fuel jumped another dollar in the next month. Then all of a sudden its going to be a big damn deal because it will become to expensive to make that hour long commute to and from work daily.

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Its 1.2billion, but either way, it is from the oil royalties Alaska has. No income or sales tax here. So not really a re-distribution, more of a tax rebate with a focus on energy. Except this tax rebate has cold hard cash behind it, straight from the SOA general fund.

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Do you wonder if the indigent people felt the same sense of loss when mechanization, modern nets and gunpowder ended much of their culture and way of life?

Ah, so the oil companies are paying the state to take oil, and then the state is giving some of that money to the citizens to buy oil from the oil companies who are paying the state. Nice scheme.

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Elminate all taxes on income and replace with a national sales tax.

Firstly, nobody is "indigent". So spare us all that.

But you do raise an interesting question point about modern civilization. Because the inventions that you mention, certainly mechanization, and modern nets and well all the modern things that you think We Indians should be thankful for.
They came at the same time for everyone. My ancestors saw thier first airplane about the same time yours did, probably within a decade for a steamship, and same goes for modern guns and well everything in modern times.

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Yeah funny how that works.
But there is good news on the horizon actually coming out of Alaska, minus the fact the ANWR drilling efforts have failed for the year. But there has long been talk about a nat gas pipeline. There is a special session scheduled for next month of the Legs to discussin which plan to pursue. Either way, Alaska will be producing more oil and finally getting the 35trillion cubic feet of nat gas to market in the midwest and west coast. And ensure greater statewide availability to Alaska residents.

But Jviehe something to keep in mind though, is that the resources of Alaska belong to the people by constitution. So that allows for a different way the royalties work out.
Constitution of Alaska - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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