"Shell Oil plans to explore for petroleum off Alaska's north coast this summer. The native people of Alaska have a big stake in both oil revenue and environmental protection. That conflict has played out in recent trips by Inupiats to Washington, D.C., to argue their case."
"One of those appearances was in the last place on Earth you might expect to find a pro-whaling news conference: a Greenpeace meeting room. But that actually transpired, thanks to alliances formed to fight Arctic oil drilling. Environmental activists know one of their strongest arguments is to speak out and even go to court to protect a traditional culture. That includes whale hunts.
That's how Caroline Cannon came to be at Greenpeace headquarters during a news conference organized by the Alaska Wilderness Society. She's the former mayor of Point Hope, Alaska, which she calls the whaling capital."
Richard Harris reports for NPR's Morning Edition March 20, 2012.
