Modern Marvels

Season 5, Episode 16

Episode Title: The Alaskan Oil Pipeline

Air Date: 1998-01-01

Overview:

In 1973, a desperate America, starved by an OPEC embargo, began construction on an 800-mile lifeline for its insatiable oil hunger. We’ll examine this technological triumph, built over impenetrable mountains and tundra, where temperatures drop to 75 below zero. We also study its impact on a fragile ecological system.