[Environmentalism in Ketchikan]

An interview with Malcolm Durone, a conservationist from Ketchikan, AK, about the difficulties of promoting conservation of natural resources in his community.

00:13Copy video clip URL Camera set-up. The interview subject talks about being involved in Alaska politics, where the population is small enough that everyone knows each other. 

01:47Copy video clip URL Overusing renewable resources, like salmon. Discussion of the ways that policies and actions in Washington and Oregon affect the fish populations in Alaska. The destruction of the salmon population since the Pacific coast was settled by white people. 

04:17Copy video clip URL Difficulties in legislating conservation. 

05:38Copy video clip URL The need to balance the opportunities for immediate jobs in Alaska with sustainability and renewal. Managing resources for longterm survival of the resource and the economy. 

06:42Copy video clip URL Not wanting his generation to exhaust all natural resources. Thinking about future generations. The wastefulness of civilization. 

07:25Copy video clip URL “Conservation” and “wilderness” being “almost dirty words” because of propaganda efforts by industry. Problems in conservation societies coming from fear of reprisals directed at individual members. Conservationists who were fired.

10:55Copy video clip URL The subject’s personal experience with reprisals based on his conservationism. 

12:30Copy video clip URL Why people support industrial efforts in Alaska and oppose conservation. Opposition to anything that might interfere with immediate profits for both companies and people. 

14:54Copy video clip URL Current struggles with misinformation campaigns from the companies. Anti-conservation ads that exaggerate or lie outright about a current effort to require permits. 

20:00Copy video clip URL The remoteness of wilderness areas in Alaska. The difficulties of traveling to truly remote areas, which are increasingly rare. His own adventures in “rugged” wilderness and his love for nature. 

25:01Copy video clip URL Living up to their “moral obligation, as caretakers of this land. But unfortunately industry doesn’t see it this way and they’ve made a lot of other people believe like they do. So we need help from the outside to accomplish this setting aside of areas for future generations.” Encouraging people to get in touch with conservationist groups to express their interest. 

26:51Copy video clip URL Joking about not saying his name on camera, then giving it: Malcolm Durone.