The Mackenzie Valley natural gas pipeline debate included many actors. This is the first in-depth study in comparative religious ethics to examine the debate with a particular focus on the role of the Canadian churches.

In 1974 twenty-seven of the world's largest oil and natural gas companies applied for permission to build a pipeline through the Mackenzie Valley to transport Alaskan and northern Canadian gas to large southern markets. Many northern native peoples opposed the proposal and called for a moratorium on major northern development projects until native land claims had...