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Rights leader says energy costs pose threat to equality

by Sean Doogan
Wednesday, June 4, 2008

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Civil rights pioneer Roy Innis spoke in downtown Anchorage Wednesday.

But he wasn't here to talk about the right to vote or the right to be treated equally on the job. He wanted to address something else entirely -environmental policies, he claims, keep the price of energy too high for many.

The civil rights veteran says this country's working poor and middle class are facing economic discrimination from high fuel costs.

Innis says energy prices are the number one threat to equality in America.

He says high prices disproportionately affect the poor who tend to spend as much as four times more of their household income on energy than upper-class Americans.

"When we get these laws passed these restrictions on drilling on the ANWR coast, the people who suffer from the high prices because of the lack of sufficient supply of resources are the poorest people in the society," Innis said.

He had a captive audience Wednesday, the Resource Development Council, a group of business people dedicated to accessing oil and gas.

The RDC is hopeful Innis will be able to reach exploration opponents with a new reason to drill for more gas and oil, instead of just using less.

"I think this is a new way of looking at it," Resource Development Council Board Chair John Shively said. "We have a whole bunch of people who are hurting, who can bring a message to the political leaders of this country that something needs to change."

They are also hopeful that Innis can bring a new voice to the global debate on oil and gas exploration, the civil rights movement.

Innis says he wants to bring regular Alaskans to Washington D.C. so they can articulate the reasons for expanding energy development across the country.

He calls Alaska, "the nation's energy bread basket."

Contact Sean Doogan at sdoogan@ktuu.com