Local development and climate protection: a case study from Alaska

Resolution of conflicts between local development and protection of the global climate is difficult. In the United States, policies in the energy‐rich state of Alaska favour development of resources rather than protection, and, further, most state policies are not based on jurisprudence principles that consider the problem of global climate change. In our article, we describe a proposal to develop a large coal strip mine that raises conflicts between local development and protection of the global climate. We suggest that application of the Public Trust Doctrine might better protect the global climate. We believe our study has import for similar situations elsewhere.