Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 09/05/2013 - 05:31

How far away was Toolik from any towns, etc. (other than Coldfoot); was it literally out in the middle of nowhere? And since we're speaking of trying to be environmentally smart, how green was the facility? Did they use solar panels or a similar clean energy source? -Emma Hawkes

Anonymous

Emma -
Really good questions! Toolik was indeed in the middle of nowhere. Or, you might even call it the edge of nowhere. It's 110 miles to Coldfoot, 130 miles to Deadhorse. And believe me, those towns are no swinging hotspots themselves - basically just gas stops. Toolik was powered by diesel fuel, with almost no renewable energy. Waste was either burned or trucked to Prudhoe Bay for disposal - nothing was dumped in the lake or the tundra. They even trucked used shower water and all human waste to Prudhoe - very expensive! Nothing about it was sustainable, but a huge effort and expense was taken to minimize its impact.
- Mr. T