In 1977 oil began to flow south from the Arctic through the controversial Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS). This study considers the TAPS proposal and controversy as an extension (even a culmination) of established processes, policies, and attitudes within Alaska history, American environmental history, and the history of conservation. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This book describes what Fairbanks was like during trans-Alaska oil pipeline construction and how the community responded to the project, and assesses the unplanned negative effects that, in many cases, outweighed the positive ones.

A comprehensive history of the native claims settlement act and the legislation that authorized the trans-Alaska pipeline.

The building of the Trans-Alaska oil pipeline, its impact on the Alaskan economy, and its environmental and social effects on the land, the people, and the wildlife along its path.