Power, Pollution, Protest
Think of pollution and you think of oil - the smog choking the city, the tar fouling the beaches, the refinery ruining the skyline. There was a time when the big oil companies could buy their way past any opposition in the name of power, progress and riches to come. The Alaska pipeline battle showed just how effective dedicated defenders of the environment can be. It taught the multinationals to recruit their own experts, to draw up their own plans for preserving the local landscape. But is that really possible when Big Oil arrives, potentially so full of dirt, danger and corruption?
Research GILL BARNES
Assistant producer JONATHAN CRANE
Written and produced by TREVOR PHILPOTT