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Alaska oil drilling auction to proceed

A controversial Alaska oil drilling rights auction has been approved by a federal judge.

A controversial Alaska oil drilling rights auction has been approved by a federal judge. Matthew Rexford is tribal administrator for the native village of Kaktovik on a remote island off Alaska's northern shoreline, and explains why he welcomes the potential economic impact of new oil exploration. Adam Kolton is executive director of the Alaska Wilderness League in Washington, DC, and explains why environmentalists are opposed to the move. And we get the perspective of the energy industry from Kara Moriarty, president of the Alaska Oil and Gas Association. Also in the programme, Canadian-American singer-songwriter Neil Young has sold half the rights to his songs for an estimated $150m. Neil Young has been opposed to the commercialisation of music in the past, so we find out why he's made this move now from music writer Eamonn Forde. Plus, the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's Ed Butler examines the impact the pandemic is likely to have on the future of retail.

(Picture: A polar bear in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Picture credit: Getty Images.)

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27 minutes

Last on

Wed 6 Jan 2021 15:32GMT

Broadcast

  • Wed 6 Jan 2021 15:32GMT